Return to the Past
by chriswiss23
Summary: Sequel to A Summer to Remember. The group returns to the beach for the summer after 4 years, but nothing is the same. Relationships have changed, people have changed, and none of them have any idea what an eventful summer they are headed for. Naley.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! As I promised, here is the sequel to A Summer to Remember. (I suggest reading that one before this one because things that happened in there will be brought up again in here.) I'm going to try to make the chapters longer for this one so the updates will probably be a little less frequent than my other story. I hope you all enjoy it and know that reviews are greatly appreciated. ;-)

P.S. There will be quite a few flashbacks in this fic, in the beginning at least, and all of them will be in italics.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 1**

She sat in one of the chairs at Karen's Café, looking around at the familiar sights that passed her by. She remembered how she would wait tables at this very restaurant all through high school and couldn't help but smile at the way it all came back to her so quickly.

She remembered how she would sit at the bar and talk to Karen as she rolled silverware up in napkins. She remembered how she would save up her money only to spend it on first edition copies of her favorite books. She even remembered the distinct smell of the coffee maker when she turned it on in the morning.

It was amazing to her how the clock seemed to turn back every time she set foot in the café. It had been a good 3 years since she had worked there but it still seemed like yesterday. So much had changed since those simple days.

As she felt the warmth of the strong arm of the man next to her spread across her back, she absentmindedly played with the two shiny rings positioned on her left hand.

_3 Years Ago..._

"_Nathan, why are we here? Tell me already!" Haley laughed as Nathan pulled her through the parking lot in the rain. It was the day after their high school graduation and Nathan had insisted that they drive all the way down here to the beach to visit a certain IHOP that was special to both of them._

_Haley looked up at him with an adoring smile when he shrugged his shoulders coyly. They had been together for almost a year now and she had loved every minute of it. Sure, there had been a few rough patches once they got back to school and real life set in, but they had been able to overcome them, together._

_The rain had begun to fall down heavily so they hurried until they were safely under the awning at the entrance. Haley started laughing at how soaked they were from just going to the restaurant from the car. Nathan smiled but seemed distracted, and Haley noticed. She also noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. He had tried to hide it by putting his hands in his pockets, but it didn't work._

"_Nathan, what's wrong?" Concern was very evident in her voice as she looked up at him through her warm brown eyes. He never acted like this. His ego was normally too big to be nervous._

_He seemed to relax a little and he pulled her hand into his. "Nothing, I'm just a little cold." That was a lie, and it was a terrible one. Nathan would be surprised if a 2 year old believed that, much less Haley. Oh well, she didn't really need to believe it, she just had to let it go for awhile._

"_Ok, well, let's go get something to eat then." She suggested as she opened the door and entered the sweet smelling building. She loved the smell of maple syrup._

"_Scott, party of 2." Nathan said casually as he greeted the host. The man nodded knowingly and started to gather up menus and silverware._

"_I had no idea you could reserve tables here." Haley whispered to him with a playful grin as she latched onto his arm and the host made a motion for them to follow him._

_Suddenly, all of Nathan's nerves seemed to vanish as a calm washed over him. It was weird, he had been nervous as hell moments ago, and just by her touch he was calm. They followed the man to their table, which happened to be the same table they had sat at the last time they were here, on their first date._

"_Wow, coincidence much?" Haley joked as she took a seat on the same side of the table that she sat at last time. "Oh my gosh. They have little purple flowers as the centerpiece?" She said in almost disbelief when the small bouquet of purple flowers on one side of the table caught her eye. Could this get any weirder? It was as if someone had perfectly planned this meal to coincide with their past._

_Nathan watched her with a smile as she picked up one of the flowers and brought it to her nose, just like she had done the first time he gave her a purple flower. He knew that those would be a nice touch. God, she was beautiful. _

"_Hello, welcome to the International House of Pancakes, may I take your order?" The voice startled them a little because of the familiarity._

"_Mouth? You still work here?" Nathan asked incredulously. This was one thing that surprised both of them. He had driven down here a few days ago to set everything up with the managers about their reservation and everything, but he never even guessed that Mouth would still be working here._

"_Do I know you?" Mouth asked bluntly. Obviously someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning._

"_You probably don't remember us." Haley pointed out politely, not wanting to go into the details of what happened last time they were here. She looked up to see Nathan smirking at her, obviously enjoying the fact that she was slightly embarrassed about pretending to have diabetes. She sent him a warning glance to advise him against bringing it up._

"_Ok, well, can I take your order?" Mouth moved on quickly._

"_Oh, um, yeah. I'll have the pancakes with bacon please." She said politely as she handed the menu back to Mouth. She looked over at Nathan who had both eyebrows raised as if to tell her that she forgot something. "Oh yeah! And a side of fruit."_

"_I'll have pancakes and bacon also." Mouth snatched the menu from Nathan's hand and then hurried off towards the kitchen, only to be stopped by the host on the way there. _

_Haley watched curiously as the host whispered to Mouth and subtly pointed to their table. 'What is that about?' she thought. "Ok, so remember the first time we came here and I gave you that true love test?" She questioned, turning back to Nathan._

"_Yeah, how could I forget? I got a 134 percent out of who knows what and then you cheated and beat me in tic-tac-toe." He laughed._

"_I did not cheat!" She defended herself. "Anyway, I talked to my sister the other day and she told me how to interpret the results of the true love test. It's out of 100 percent, so I guess I did it wrong."_

"_Nah, I do love you 134 percent." He said sincerely as a small blush spread across her face. He loved that after a year together he could still make her blush._

_After another 20 minutes or so of light conversation, Mouth finally came back with their food. Haley looked at the tray in front of her in confusion. When did they start serving the meals with lids on them? Mouth quickly walked away as Haley reached to uncover her precious pancakes._

_Nathan surprised her by reaching his hand out and placing it on top of hers, preventing her from lifting the lid just yet. "You know I love you, right?"_

"_Yeah." She smiled back at him. "And I love you too. But I'm starving so can I please eat my pancakes now?"_

_Nathan smiled as he pulled his hand away from hers and watched her carefully lift the shiny lid from her plate. Her eyes doubled in size and her mouth hung open slightly at what she saw._

_Instead of pancakes and bacon, a small velvet box sat inside with a gorgeous diamond ring sitting in it. She was speechless. Did this get delivered to her by mistake? _

_Nathan smiled at her reaction, he had assumed that she would respond that way. He reached over and grabbed the ring out of the box, got out of his seat, and walked over to her. After seeing him get down on one knee, the entire restaurant became silent. _

"_What are you doing?" She asked the question so softly that Nathan had to resist the urge to kiss her on the spot._

"_Haley, I love you. More than I ever thought was possible. And if there's one thing that I've ever been certain of in my life, it's that I want to spend it with _you_... So, Haley James, will you marry me?"_

_A small tear escaped from her eye as a large smile spread across her face. "Of course I will!" Her hand was shaking as he put the ring on her finger. She was in awe of how perfect it fit. She automatically launched herself into his arms and kissed him with all the love that she felt right then as the crowd that had previously been eating their breakfast applauded in approval._

_Present_

Both she and Nathan had attended Duke that fall and they tied the knot during the summer before their junior year. Now they had now been married for almost a year and Haley was still shocked by how fast time seemed to move.

"Weren't Lucas and Brooke supposed to be here 20 minutes ago?" Nathan asked lightly as he leaned over and buried his face in her hair. It was weird that over the course of 4 years he had gotten close to Lucas, or at least closer, now they could almost be considered brothers.

"Yeah, but you know Brooke, it will probably be another 20 before they get here." Haley laughed. "What do you think she wants anyway?"

Brooke had called them this morning, their first morning back in Tree Hill for the summer, and said that she had something big to tell them and to meet her and Lucas here at Karen's for lunch. Both were left guessing as to what this gathering could be about. One thing was for sure though; it was Brooke so it had to be interesting.

"Who knows." Nathan joked as he reached out and took a sip of the water that a young waitress had just set down.

"Haley, it's so good to see you again!" Karen said joyfully as she came out from the back and engulfed her in a big hug. "You too Nathan, it seems like forever since I've seen you two."

"I know, I was just thinking about how much has changed since I worked here." Haley admitted with a smile as she pulled away from Karen and took a seat next to her husband, motioning for Karen to sit across from her. "So how are you?"

"I'm good. The Café is doing good, Tric is doing good, Keith's body shop is doing excellent." Karen and Keith had gotten married about 3 years ago, a few months before Nathan and Haley got engaged.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it." Haley said enthusiastically. Although Karen was about 18 years her senior, she thought of her as more of a friend than a mother figure.

"So tell me, how's school going? Lucas tells me that you both love it up there at Duke." Karen smiled. Her own son had gone to UNC with Brooke while Haley and Nathan ended up at Duke.

"Yeah, it's great. But I think we're both happy to be graduating next year." Haley took a look at her husband and could tell that he was pleased about that as well.

"How's basketball going, Nathan? I caught one of your games on TV the other day." She said as she turned her attention to her son's half-brother.

"It's good. Coach K was nice enough to give us the summer off from practice." Nathan smiled. He was extremely happy to get to spend the whole summer relaxing in his hometown with his wife.

"That's nice. I'm sorry, I really should get back to work, but I'll talk to you two later." Karen said as she stood up and draped the rag that had been in her hand over her shoulder.

"Bye Karen." Haley watched as she retreated back into the kitchen and then turned to her husband. "I feel bad, maybe we should have told her?"

Nathan just laughed as he pulled her close to him. "I love you, you know that?

"Yeah, you've told me once or twice." She giggled and put her hands to his face and pulled it down to hers in a sweet kiss.

"Haley!" Brooke yelled as she burst through the door to the café and ran over to her friend. She instantly pulled Haley away from Nathan and into a bone crushing hug.

"Easy Brooke, don't break her." Nathan laughed.

"And you. How are you?" She moved over to him and gave him the same hug that she had just given his wife.

At this time, Lucas finally walked in and Haley ran over to him and hugged him. "Luke! I missed you."

"Hey, you didn't say that to me." Brooke pouted as she watched the exchange between her friend and her boyfriend. Brooke and Lucas had been going out since that summer four years ago and everything seemed to be perfect in their relationship. But underneath the smile that she always displayed, Brooke secretly felt a little insecure around him. They had been going out for four years now and she was in love with him, as she was sure he was with her, but yet he still hadn't even suggested marriage. Not once.

"I didn't get the chance before you moved on to my husband." Haley joked.

"Sorry, it's just that I haven't seen you guys in forever." She complained good naturedly.

"Brooke, we just saw you on Easter." Nathan laughed as he wrapped his arms around Haley's waist.

"Oh yeah. Well, it seemed like so much longer than that." She replied as she dismissed the topic and sat down at the table, the other three following suit. "Oh my God, did you hear about Skills and Bevin?"

"No, what about them?" Haley chuckled. She knew how much Brooke loved her gossip.

"They eloped last week!" Brooke was practically falling out of her chair with excitement.

"What?! I did not see that coming." Haley admitted with a cheerful laugh as the guys started their own conversation on the other end of the table. They really didn't care about the latest scandals.

"So, did you catch the Yankees vs. the Red Soxs game last night?" Lucas asked casually, purposely blocking out the conversation that the girls were having.

"I, um… saw the first half." Nathan said, a hint of discomfort obvious in his posture.

"What? Why only half? Dude, you missed the best 9th inning I've ever seen!"

"I uh, got distracted." A small smirk spread across his face as he recalled the events of the night before. He didn't care how great of a 9th inning it was, he would never regret missing it…

"By what? That game was intense." Lucas asked in disbelief.

"By my wife." Nathan said honestly as Lucas grimaced.

"Ok, never again will you tell me something like that." Lucas said in disgust. Ew, Haley was like his little sister! He definitely didn't want to think about what she could have possibly done to tear Nathan away from the best game of the year so far.

"Do you want me to tell you guys why are here now?" Brooke questioned with a playful smile on her face as she addressed the whole group and not just Haley.

"Wait, Lucas, you don't even know what this is about?" Haley questioned.

"Well, I have an idea, but I don't _know._" Lucas admitted. "Brooke, don't we need to wait for Peyton and Tim?"

"Peyton can't make it today because she had some job interview or something so I had to fill her in on the plan over the phone…and Tim…Let's just hope he didn't get the message." Brooke answered.

"What up all? Tim is officially in the hizzous!" Tim cheered for himself as he entered the café and made his way over to the group, pulling a chair up to end so he could sit in between Nathan and Lucas.

"Tim, I haven't seen you since senior year." Brooke commented with a fake smile. "No wonder these last 3 years have been so good." After that fate changing summer 4 years ago, the two groups had almost meshed together once they got back to school. Brooke had felt comfortable talking to Nathan because he was dating Haley and subsequently felt comfortable talking to Peyton. The only exception was Tim. Brooke never really got along with Tim.

"Funny, Brooke." Tim said sarcastically. "What did you want anyway?"

"Huh?" Brooke really didn't understand the question. What did she want? As in, to drink?

"Why did you make me come here?" He clarified.

"Well, Dim, I have a surprise for you. All of you." Brooke flashed a mischievous grin at the rest of the people sitting at the table as Lucas, Haley, and Nathan leaned in a little closer, anxious to hear what this big surprise could be.

"Come on Brooke, tell us already!" Haley scolded at her friend's inability to share what was apparently good news.

"Ok ok, I decided that it was time for a little reunion."

"Brooke, what are you talking about?" Lucas questioned at his girlfriend's coyness.

"So, I took it upon myself to plan the perfect summer for all of us. Which, unfortunately, includes Tim."

"What did you do?" Nathan laughed. Whatever it was had to be interesting.

"I booked condos 9 and 10 at the same place we stayed at 4 years ago!" Brooke said excitedly as the rest of the group's mouths fell open.

"Wait, what?" Haley was just a little confused. Did Brooke just say that she booked those same condos that held so many memories for the whole summer?

"You heard me Tutor-wife. We are all going to move to the beach for another summer of fun!"

"Brooke, you didn't even think to ask me about this first?" Lucas's face showed a mixture of amusement and hurt.

"I just wanted to surprise you, Broody." She pouted, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stay mad at her with that face on. "I talked to Peyton and she's going to come down next week. So, what do you say? Are you guys in?"

Tim immediately held up his hand. "I'm so there! I was beginning to miss all the girls in bikinis everywhere I looked."

"Great! Haley? Nathan?"

Both were almost too shocked to speak. Was she crazy? "We, um, need to talk about it first." Haley managed to say. This was so like Brooke. If they went, they would undoubtedly have a good time, but things were a little different now, they weren't carefree teenagers anymore, they had responsibilities.

"Sure. Take all the time you need." Brooke smiled, but made no attempt to get up and give them any privacy. Instead she stared at them along with Tim and Lucas.

"Hales, do you think it's a good idea. I mean because of…" He trailed off, knowing that the other three were listening to every word of their conversation. "We don't have to go if you think-"

"No, I think we should go. It'll be fun." She said reassuringly as she watched Brooke's face light up and couldn't help the smile that crossed her own face as well.

"You're sure?" He asked in a low voice. Lucas had to wonder what they were talking about, but decided to let it go, assuming that it was either a Duke thing or a married person thing.

"Positive." She laughed as she took her face in his hands. "Besides, it'll be fun to see Whitey again."

"Oh boy, don't remind me." He mumbled and tried to hide the grin that threatened to surface at the thought of his favorite old man.

"Yay! This is so exciting! So you guys are coming?" Brooke looked at them hopefully, awaiting their final answers.

"Yes, we're coming." Haley smiled.

"Ah! This summer is going to be so much better than that other one!" Brooke exclaimed as she got up out of her seat and engulfed Haley in a hug.

So they were returning to the place that had changed so many things in all of their lives. Everything was different now, though. New relationships had formed, some had grown stronger, and some had fallen apart since the last time they had visited those condos. None of them had any idea what an eventful summer they were headed for.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone. Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad to know that you are enjoying the story so far. For those of you who wanted to see them in thier senior year of high school, don't worry, I plan on having a few flashbacks of that time. Also, I'm going to try to update at least every other day...but I'm not going to promise anything because exams are coming up and I have about a million projects due. ;-) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and please let me know what you think. Even if you think it's terrible. lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to Past**_

**Chapter 2**

"How much longer, Nate?" Tim whined from the backseat of Nathan's Range Rover.

"We still have about 25 minutes, Tim." Haley said as she put her hand to her head. She had a massive headache and Tim's slightly annoying voice was only making it worse. "And, Nathan, can you please turn down that music?" She sniped.

Tim watched in awe as Nathan reached over and turned the music off without so much as a word. _Man, he's whipped,_ Tim thought. Back in the day, Nathan wouldn't turn down his music for anyone. Speaking of, what was Haley's problem? She was being extra grumpy today. _Must be that time of the month…_

After a few more minutes of looking out the window at the colorful cars passing by, Tim decided that he was too bored to stay awake. He reached his hand behind him and searched for his pillow and when his hand finally grasped the soft feathery object, he laid it against the window and placed his head firmly on it, closing his eyes.

"Did you talk to Peyton?" Haley asked as she turned to look at her husband who had one hand on the steering wheel and one on the armrest next to him.

"Yeah, she said it's fine that she has to stay with Brooke and Lucas." He responded, looking at her for a split second before refocusing on the road. Since Lucas and Brooke were staying together and he and Haley were obviously not separating, Tim had been assigned to condo 10 with them and Peyton to 9 with Brooke and Lucas.

"I didn't think it would be a problem." Haley knew that Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas were not best friends or anything, but they had formed a friendship nonetheless over the years. She also knew that Peyton wouldn't want to find a condo for just herself; she knew that she would want to be around people. Haley couldn't even imagine what Peyton was going through, returning to the place that held so many memories that were now irrelevant.

"Yeah, I think she's finally trying to put the past in the past." Nathan said as he stared at the road in front of him. It made him feel bad to see his friend's heart breaking, knowing that he could do nothing about it.

"Dude, can you guys please stop talking? At least until I fall asleep." Tim mumbled in a half conscious haze.

"It's not your car. We'll talk if we want." Haley said in an irritated tone.

Both guys turned to look at her questioningly. Neither had been expecting that hostile of a comment from her.

"Fine. Jeez Haley." Tim grumbled as he closed his eyes again.

Nathan glanced over at Haley again, catching her gaze. What had sparked that little outburst? He gave her a look that asked that exact question and was surprised when he saw he saw the same question reflected back in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tim. I shouldn't have snapped at you." She apologized. Truth be told, she had no idea what made her snap like that. Her headache was getting really bad and Tim's voice was just making it worse. _Why did I get mad at Tim and not Nathan?_ She wondered. Nathan had been talking more than Tim.

Nathan just smiled before looking over at her again. He knew exactly what was going on with her and it made him more than a little intrigued. Haley looked over his smiling face before realizing why she had done what she just did. Once she took it in, she burst out into laughter as Nathan did the same.

"What the hell?" Tim yelled, popping his head up in shock. He was so close to finally achieving sleep and then those morons started laughing hysterically. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing, Tim. Just go back to sleep." Nathan managed to say in between laughs.

"Whatever." Tim said, slightly peeved about being left out of this obviously hilarious inside joke.

Haley's laugh slowly calmed down to a light chuckle as she tried to adjust her seatbelt yet again. Ever since they traded the old SUV for this one, the seatbelt had been getting on her nerves. Every time she moved it felt like it was cutting into her neck. Seatbelts hadn't felt like that to her since junior high when she was too short to sit in the seat without a booster seat but did it anyway because being seen in a booster seat would have been completely mortifying.

Nathan looked over after seeing his wife's restless movement out of the corner of his eye. "You do know that to stop the seatbelt from hitting your neck, all you have to do is make the seat higher. Right?"

"You're just now telling me this?" She said evenly.

"Sorry. I didn't realize it bothered you so much." he laughed. She promptly stuck her hand down the side of the seat searching for the button that automatically raised it. The seat made a slight buzzing noise as it lifted itself up, causing Tim to stir slightly from his light slumber at the noise and bury his face deeper into the pillow, sparking a small giggle from Haley.

"Are you happy about coming back here for the summer?" She asked suddenly.

"Yeah, aren't you?" He wanted to hear her honest answer because he wanted to make sure that she still thought it was a good idea.

"Yeah. It'll be fun." She said assuredly, more for her own good that his. Last time they were here, Nathan almost died on a burning boat and she had been close to being molested by that creepy Chris Keller. Sure, good things had come out of that summer, such as her relationship with her husband, but part of her was a little apprehensive about returning, especially in their current situation.

"Hales, we don't have to stay if you don't want to." Nathan knew that if she thought it was a bad idea, then it probably was.

"No I want to; it just brings back so many memories…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean…"

They sat in silence for a few moments before the sounds of a muffled snore filled the car. Haley groaned at Tim's sudden snoring, which got louder with each passing second, and took both of her hands to her head to massage his temples. _Gosh, Tim, take a decongestant every now and then…_

Nathan looked over at her in concern and then glanced in his mirror to make sure Tim was sleeping soundly before speaking. "Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, it's just a migraine. If he snores like that all the time, then remind me to pick up ear plugs when I go to the grocery." She smiled over at him to reassure him that it was, in fact, a migraine.

He turned his attention back to the road as Haley turned back to looking out her window. After a few more minutes, Nathan spoke again. "When are we planning on telling them?"

They both glanced back at Tim to confirm that he was actually asleep before continuing. "I'm not sure. I was thinking about maybe taking them out to dinner to, you know, soften them up a little bit." She smiled as she looked over at him for his opinion. She found herself doing that a lot these days. She always wanted to know what he thought before making a decision.

"That's probably a good idea. I'm not sure if I even want to think about what Lucas is going to do." One thing was for sure; Lucas would more than likely be less than thrilled about this.

"Yeah," Haley unknowingly chewed on her bottom lip. She definitely wasn't looking forward to telling Lucas. Brooke would probably be fine with it, maybe even happy, but Lucas was almost certainly going to freak out.

"It's ok, he'll get over it. The worst is going to be the initial shock." Nathan soothed her as he reached his free hand over to grab hers. "And he's going to find out eventually, so-"

"Find out what?" Tim asked groggily from the back seat.

"Nothing." They both covered at the same time.

"Whatever. You guys are weird. Are we almost there, Nate?"

Haley resisted the urge to yell at him when she looked out the window and saw her first glimpse of the ocean. "Hey! Did you guys see it? The ocean!" She said excitedly as she stared out her window again, waiting until they passed the building that was in front of them so she could see the great mass of water that laid beyond.

"Sweet! I haven't seen the ocean since the last time we were here!" Tim said excitedly as he pressed his face to the window.

"Wow, I didn't know I was moving in with 3rd graders for the summer." Nathan laughed as his wife and his best friend stared wide eyed out at the ocean.

"Oh, shut up. You love us." Haley said playfully.

"Ok, maybe I love you…but Tim…"

"Hey!" Tim yelled as Nathan started laughing and pulled the car into the familiar parking lot.

"Look, we beat Brooke and Lucas." Haley pointed out as Nathan parked the car in the spot designated for condo number 10, next to the empty spot for condo number 9.

"They probably pulled over and started making out." Tim mumbled. Haley and Nathan both threw him slightly annoyed looks before he started to speak again. "What? They're always making out!"

Haley was the first to step out of the car and breathe in the fresh warm air. "Oh, I forgot how much I love the beach!" She excitedly clapped her hands before turning back towards the car to see Nathan getting out on the other side. "Nathan, we should come here for vacation every year once-" She immediately cut herself off when she realized that it wasn't just the two of them out there. They weren't exactly ready for Tim to know yet.

Nathan chuckled a little when she hurriedly brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from slipping up. Luckily, Tim, being the lazy person he was, was just now making a move to get out of the car and hadn't heard her.

"I'm going to go get one of those cart things for us to put our luggage on." Tim said as he took off for the building's entrance hall in search of one of those 'cart things'.

"Oh my gosh, I almost gave it away!" She giggled as they both walked to the back of the car and Nathan opened the trunk.

"Yeah, you got pretty close." Nathan laughed as she rested her head on his chest.

"You're doing a bad job mister. You're supposed to distract me so I can't slip up!"

"My bad, I didn't realize that getting out of the car would cause you to say something." He laughed even harder when she gave him a playful shove. Why did he laugh? Because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move him, it was just so fun to watch her try.

"Got it!" Tim yelled as he approached them again. "Start putting the bags in." He commanded.

Haley and Nathan nodded and both reached into the trunk to grab some of the large bags. "Babe, we got this. Why don't you just go get all your stuff from the front?"

"Ok, um, then I'll go unlock the condo for you." She decided as she moved out of their way so they could continue to unload the bags.

"Haley, can you take my pillow and my travel games up too?" Tim asked before his head was greeted by a brief smack by Nathan. "Dude! What the hell was that for?"

"Carry your own pillow and travel games or whatever they are." Nathan commanded.

"It's fine, Nate, I'll take them." Haley smiled before reaching into the backseat and grabbing Tim's pillow and his mini magnetic checkers game. _Who makes checkers as a travel game?_

As Haley gathered her purse and her small bag of snacks from the front seat, Nathan shot Tim and annoyed glance. Haley knew that he was going to scold Tim as soon as she left. It was like he didn't realize that it was only a pillow and a mini checkers board, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. She knew how protective he was and she thought it was cute that he didn't want her to carry a pillow, even though she knew that she was perfectly capable of carrying the pillow.

"Tim, you're an idiot." Nathan said once Haley was out of earshot and making her way towards the condos.

"What? It's just a pillow!" Tim defended himself.

"Yeah, but my wife shouldn't have to carry your crap around." Nathan responded.

"Fine, I'll carry my own pillow from now on. Jeez." Tim shut the trunk after Nathan lifted the last bag into the cart.

When Haley walked into condo 10, a wave of memories crashed over her, the most prominent of these was how she spent a few weeks sleeping over here because her uncle Bobby had escaped from jail.

She slowly walked in and set her key down on the counter top which looked different from the last time they were here. _Whitey must have gotten new countertops,_ She thought. Whitey, she wanted to go see Whitey.

"So I actually get a bed this time?" Tim asked skeptically as he and Nathan entered the condo with the cart a few minutes later.

"Yeah, unless you want to sleep on the couch again for some strange reason." Nathan said as he pulled the top suitcase out of the cart and set it on the floor.

"Brooke and Lucas still aren't here?" Haley questioned as she walked over to help them unload the luggage from the cart. Nathan promptly took every bag she put her hand on and lifted it out of the cart before she had a chance to. "Nathan! Stop treating me like a baby. I can carry a suitcase." She laughed.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should." He said as he threw her a look that Tim couldn't decipher.

"Fine. Then I want to go see Whitey."

"Ok, have fun with that old man." Nathan joked.

"Oh, you're coming with me." Haley smirked as she led him to the door by his shirt collar.

"Hales, there's still unpacking to do." He complained.

"But don't you want to come with me to say hi to Whitey?" She asked in a soft voice, letting her puppy dog face take over. After 4 years, Nathan had still not become immune to it.

"Stop. Haley, stop! You know I can't say no to that face!"

"I know." She smiled. "So let's go!" He laughed as she grabbed his hand and pulled in towards the stairs.

* * *

Brian "Whitey" Durham was sitting in his office going over the financial records for the past few months. He seemed to be making a slight profit, but nothing that could buy an early retirement for him. His thoughts were disturbed by a loud knock at the door. "Who could that be?" He mumbled. He wasn't even sure if anyone knew that this was his office and not just a random closet of some sort. 

He slowly got up out f his chair and made his way towards the door and the impatient person on the other side who had not stopped knocking. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

Whitey swung open the door and a small smile formed on his face. "Nathan Scott. I was wondering when you were going to come see me."

"Hi Whitey." Nathan chuckled. Apparently Brooke had put the condo in his name. "How are you?"

"I'm ok for an old man." Whitey laughed as he pulled Nathan in to a brief hug. It was then that he noticed Haley behind him with a big smile on her face. "Well, well, Haley James, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Actually, it's Haley James Scott." Haley beamed as she flashed her left hand in the air for Whitey to see the two rings that adorned her finger.

"Well I never." Whitey smiled. "You mean you actually sunk low enough to marry a smart ass like him?" He joked as he pointed a Nathan who only rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"I had a momentary lapse of judgment." She confirmed with a playful smile.

"Hey!" Nathan laughed as he wrapped his arm around Haley's waist. "Whitey, you better stop putting crazy ideas in her head."

"I'm pretty sure she's already crazy to get herself stuck with you for the rest of her life." Whitey chuckled. He forgot how much he loved to make the boy angry. "When did this happen, anyway?"

"Almost a year ago." Haley said proudly as she patted her hand on Nathan's arm that was still wrapped securely around her.

"Really, a year? I hope you're not pregnant. I heard about Dan from Lucas, so you never know." Whitey joked. Nathan and Haley both laughed briefly before he continued. "How's school going?"

"Great. We love it up there at Duke." Nathan smiled.

"Oh yes, I remember seeing one of your games a while ago. If memory serves me right, you were getting a little rough with number 33 on the other team." Whitey said in an almost scolding tone.

"That guy was an ass!" Nathan defended himself, knowing exactly which game Whitey was talking about.

"How have you been, Whitey?" Haley asked, changing the subject.

For a second, Whitey's face flashed with pain and sadness before he answered. "I've not been doing so great." He admitted. Nathan and Haley looked at him puzzled. "Camilla passed away this past winter."

Haley felt tears spring to her eyes as her mouth hung open in shock. Granted, she didn't know the woman all that well, but she had loved her nonetheless. Nathan felt his heart drop a little at Whitey's words; even he knew how much the old man loved her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Haley said in a weak voice as she pulled Whitey into a hug.

"Thank you, Haley. It's a strange thing. She survived so much in her lifetime, only to be taken by pneumonia. It just doesn't seem fair." Whitey managed to say before a small tear escaped from his eye and Haley pulled him in for another hug.

"We're here for you, if you need anything." Nathan said softly as he watched the man who had berated him so many times, all but break down in his wife's arms. He had never seen Whitey cry before.

"Thank you, Nathan. That means a lot to me."

Nathan stared at the broken man before him, who, just minutes ago, had been wearing a mask of happiness so convincing that he never would have guessed that Camilla had died. Than Nathan's eyes traveled to the petite figure he was holding on to. A wave of emotion threatened to overtake him as he thought about what he would do if he was in Whitey's position. The answer came quickly; he wouldn't be able to live. It was as simple as that, if anything happened to Haley, Nathan would not be able to live without her.

He loved her more than life itself and that love was what kept him motivated to live when life got tough. Without that, he didn't know where he'd be. This love that they shared, and the thought of losing her, helped him to understand more clearly what Whitey was going through, and for the first time in a _very_ long time, Nathan's eyes started to fill up with small salty tears as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone. First of all, thank you so much for all of the lovely reviews. I am being completely serious when I say that they brighten my day. So, this chapter will answer some of the questions that you have been asking...;-) I hope you like it!

P.S. One Tree Hill is on tonight. Yay!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 3**

"Haley, are you and Nathan going to the beach today with me?" Tim asked as he played the PS2 that he had packed and hooked up to the TV, again.

"I don't know, Tim." Haley responded with a slight groan as she opened the refrigerator to find something to eat that wouldn't make her stomach ache worse. She settled on a bottle of water and then closed the refrigerator door.

"What's your problem? All you've done since we got here a few days ago is complain." Tim mumbled as he set his controller on the coffee table and turned to look at her. "When's Nathan going to be back?"

"I don't know, Tim." Haley said again, this time a little more annoyed. Nathan had gone to get some more sunscreen because they had already run out and Haley insisted that she wouldn't go to the beach without it. He had been gone for 20 minutes now; she was assuming that he would be home any minute.

"Ugh, I wish he would hurry up already." He grumbled as he got up and walked past her to the fridge. He swiftly pulled out his leftover pizza with anchovies on it and took a large bite out of it.

"Oh God." Haley groaned and covered her mouth when the odor of the anchovies reached her nose. That smell was anything but pleasant.

Tim watched with a bewildered face as she ran around him into the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. "Ew, God Haley, what's wrong with you?" Tim said as he took another large bite from his pizza.

At this moment, Nathan returned with a plastic bag hanging from his left hand. "They didn't have Banana Boat so I had to get Walgreen's Brand." He set the bag on the table and then looked around the apartment only to see Tim. "Where's Haley at?"

Tim's only response was to point at the bathroom as he chewed his pizza ferociously.

Nathan curiously started walking towards the bathroom, and when he saw that the door was open, he became a little concerned. At first he had thought she was taking a shower or something and he was just going to knock on the door and let her know he was home, but when he saw the door open, his curiosity grew.

"I have…no idea…what her problem is…" Tim said with a full mouth. "She just…started throwing up…I think she has…the flu or something…"

_Throwing up? Shit._ Nathan was in the bathroom in seconds and knelt down next to her. "Hey, baby, what's wrong?" She was still hugging the toilet bowl and looked up and answered him with her eyes. When she started to gag again, he quickly gathered her hair and held it away from her face. "I thought this was supposed to stop by now."

The doctor said that sometimes it takes longer." Haley managed to say as Nathan soothingly ran his hand up and down her back.

Tim watched them, confused. Haley had been to the doctor because she couldn't stand the smell of anchovies? "I don't get it. What is going on?"

"Did you take your pill yet today?" Nathan asked, ignoring Tim, and Haley nodded her head.

"Wait, pill? Did I miss something?" Nathan and Haley looked up at him but neither made an attempt to answer. "What the hell is going on?" Nathan and Haley looked at each other as if to decide whether or not to spill their big secret to Tim. "I know you guys are hiding something." He huffed. "You're always whispering in your room about something when I wake up. Haley, you yell at me for stupid things, and Nathan, you get mad at me for complaining to you about Haley yelling at me for stupid things! Tell me! I can keep a secret!"

Haley would have laughed at that last statement had she not felt so sick. She slowly looked up at Nathan whose face told her that it was time to tell Tim everything. Haley let out a deep breath before continuing. "I'm pregnant."

_4 Months Ago…_

"_Nathan?" Haley called as she entered the apartment they shared just outside of the Duke campus. _

"_Yeah, I'm in here." Nathan responded from the bedroom where he was tying his shoes in preparation for his basketball practice. What was Haley doing home? He thought she had a child psychology class? She walked into the room while playing nervously with her hands and Nathan immediately knew something was wrong. "I thought you had a class."_

"_I um…I did. I skipped it." She looked down at the ground as Nathan's head shot up to stare at her._

_She skipped class? Now he knew something was wrong, Haley never skipped class, ever. "Hales, what's wrong?"_

_He stood up to walk over to her, but she quickly put a hand on his chest to stop him. "You're going to want to be seated for this."_

_Nathan's face clouded with concern as he sat back down on the bed, taking her hands in his. "What is it?"_

_She took a step closer so she was standing in between his knees, her head slightly above his. It always made him smile that even when he was sitting down, he was only less than a foot shorter than her. "I don't really know how to tell you this…" She trailed off._

"_Baby, it's ok. You can tell me." Nathan encouraged as one of his hands went behind her head to stroke her hair. She was really starting to worry him. What was going on with her?_

"_I'm not so sure that it's going to be ok..." She trailed off again. She was scared to tell him. Sure, they were married, but they were also only 21 and still in college. _

_Nathan's mind raced for possible explanations for her behavior. He tried to think back to everything she had said and done this morning in search of a clue to her current dilemma. They had been rushing around, both trying to be ready on time for their 8:30 classes. She had something about a test in her accounting class, and then she said something about the creepy student teacher in her American literature class that always tried to look down girls' shirts… 'Oh my God, if that son of a bitch touched her I'm going to beat his ass.' Nathan thought. _

_He looked up at her again, and noticed that her eyes were becoming glossy with tears. "Hey, don't cry. It will be ok, I promise. Just tell me what's wrong."_

_She looked straight into his eyes for a moment, gathering up her courage to tell him. This wasn't a bad thing, she actually thought of it as more of a good thing, it was just a scary thing. It was scary to think that maybe he would think of it as a bad thing. "I skipped class today because I had to go to the doctor."_

"_What? Are you ok? Is something wrong?" His face conveyed the sudden panic that she knew he felt and she internally cursed herself for picking words that made him worry._

"_No, I'm fine. I had to get some tests done…" She looked down for a few seconds, preparing herself for her next statement, before looking back up at him and continuing. "Nathan, I'm pregnant."_

_Nathan's eyes got significantly larger upon hearing her news. His eyes quickly flickered down to her stomach for a moment before refocusing on her face which now had a single tear stain on it. 'No, don't cry,' he thought briefly. His mind was spinning around in circles. "Wha…Are you sure?"_

_Haley only nodded in response. His voice had given no hint to how he might be feeling about this. Haley herself wasn't even sure how she was feeling about this. She loved Nathan, and of course they had planned on having kids someday, but they had never planned on 'someday' being this soon._

_All Nathan could think about was that there was a baby growing inside of his wife right now, his baby, and that scared him to death. He wasn't ready to be a father, was he? What if he ended up like Dan? He was so confused by the mixture of emotions circulating through him right now. _

"_Nate, can you tell me what you're thinking?" Haley whispered, scared of what his answer could possibly be._

_Nathan took a few more seconds to think before answering. "I'm kind-of shocked." He saw her face visibly fall a little by his answer. _

"_In a bad way?" Her voice was weak as she prepared herself for his answer._

"_No…in a good way." He started to laugh softly as the realization hit him, he was happy. "Oh my God, we're having a baby."_

"_We're having a baby." Haley repeated softly as she broke into a smile as well. She had been so scared all afternoon after she got the results of the doctor and she hadn't really had a chance to decide how she felt about it. Now she realized that she was happy, in fact, she was more than happy, she was excited._

_Nathan sat for a moment in awe. A baby. Now that the initial surprise had worn off, he realized that he had never been happier or more in love with his wife than he was at that moment. "And you're ok? I mean, you're healthy and everything, right?" _

_Haley smiled down at his sudden concern. "Yeah, we're fine." She leaned forward and softly kissed him on the lips before pulling away and grabbing his hand. Nathan's smile only grew as she led his hand to her stomach and he let it rest gently underneath hers._

"_There's a baby in there." He said with a smile, his eyes leaving her stomach to focus on her glowing face._

"_Yeah, there is." He quickly pulled her in for another kiss as she laughed against his lips. "I love you." She whispered in-between giggles._

"_I love you more." Nathan smiled against her lips as they rested their foreheads together. This moment in time felt so perfect to him. Sure, he had been a little freaked out at first, but when he thought about it, he couldn't be happier. This baby was their miracle._

_Present_

Tim's mouth fell open at Haley's confession. "I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong." He laughed. "I thought you said you're pregnant."

"I am." Haley repeated slowly as Nathan watched his friend's reaction.

"What?!" Tim was completely taken off guard by this. He knew that he wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch, but even he should have been able to put the clues together. He lived with her for God's sake!

"We were planning on telling you guys once Peyton gets here tomorrow." Nathan said. He was still sitting on the bathroom floor next to his wife, his best friend's eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"But, Haley, you're not even fat." Tim stated, totally confused. Weren't pregnant women normally fat?

"I'm only 4 and a half month's pregnant, Tim." Haley said almost in an annoyed tone. Why did he always say the stupidest things? "I haven't started showing yet."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Tim responded, giving up on trying to understand Haley's lack of 'fatness'.

"Tim, can you please let us tell Brooke, Lucas, and Peyton tomorrow?" Nathan asked, already knowing that if he didn't spell it out, Tim would tell the whole world by dinner time.

"I guess. Man, this is so weird." Tim walked over towards the kitchen table and took a seat as he stuffed his last bit of pizza into his mouth.

"Are you feeling better?" Nathan whispered into Haley's ear. She nodded her head and he helped her stand up. It was weird how her morning sickness worked; it normally came suddenly and left the same way. She was also surprised to even have it today, she hadn't thrown up for almost a week.

They both walked over to where Tim was sitting at the table and took seats across from him. Nathan felt like this issue wasn't resolved yet and that they still had some explaining to do before Tim would fully understand what was going on.

"Tim, we're sorry we didn't tell you." Haley said softly. "We just wanted to tell you all together."

"So, if you're not fat now, are you ever going to get fat?" Tim was getting more confused every time he thought about it.

Nathan and Haley looked at each other and started laughing. "Yeah, she's going to get fat." Nathan responded. "I mean, her stomach is going to grow." He corrected himself after receiving an evil glare from Haley. "Probably soon, too."

"Wait, so you're not fat, but you're going to be soon?" Tim questioned. No wonder he never paid attention to pregnant women, they were too confusing.

"Uh huh." Haley couldn't help the excitement in her voice. Soon there would be physical evidence that she was going to be a mommy.

"Whatever." Tim officially gave up trying to understand and made his way towards the refrigerator again. "Do you guys want a beer?"

Haley and Nathan both gave him incredulous looks. "Tim, did you not just hear what we said? She's pregnant."

"I know, I heard you the first time. Well, the second time." Tim laughed light-heartedly. "So do you?"

"Tim, pregnant women cannot drink any alcohol." Haley clarified as she watched him. She found it very amusing that he didn't know this. She had known that simple fact by the time she was 12.

"Oh. Sucks for you." He pulled out a can of beer and took a large swig of it. He was so glad he was a boy; he could drink beer whenever he wanted.

* * *

"I just got off the phone with Peyton. She's going to be here at around noon tomorrow." Brooke said excitedly as Lucas came out of the bathroom. 

"That's great." He mumbled. He still wasn't ecstatic about having to share the condo with someone else, he wanted Brooke all to himself, but Brooke wouldn't even hear of having Peyton stay somewhere else, so he had caved.

"Oh, and Haley called earlier. We're all going out to dinner tomorrow night." She smiled as Lucas walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, his head resting on her shoulder.

"Sounds good."

"One more thing, be nice to Peyton while she's here." Brooke pleaded as she turned around to face him.

"I am always nice." He smiled playfully.

"That's not what I meant, Broody. I meant, be friendly. It can't be easy for her to come down here after everything that happened with Jake."

"Yeah, about that, I never heard the whole story. What exactly happened between her and Jake?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Oh, sorry, it's really not my place to tell you." Brooke said apologetically. "Why don't you ask Peyton tomorrow?" She suggested with a smile, knowing that Lucas would refuse. He hated discussing touchy subjects with people.

"No way! What would I say, 'Hi Peyton, glad you could make it. By the way, why did you and Jake break up?' I don't think so." Lucas said adamantly.

"Hey, have you noticed Haley and Nathan have been acting strange since we got here?" Brooke questioned.

"No, why? Have they?" Lucas had not noticed any weird behavior between the two. Unless he counted kissing, which to him was still a little weird, they seemed to be acting normal.

"I don't know. It just feels like they're hiding something. Like the first day we got here and I offered to help Haley unpack her suitcase and she wouldn't let me! I mean, it's not like I haven't seen her lingerie before, I helped her pick all of it out."

"Brooke, first of all, she's my best friend and I really would appreciate it if you didn't tell me about her lingerie, and second, how do you know that she just didn't need your help?" Lucas questioned, not really seeing how wanting to unpack your own suitcase means that you are hiding something.

"Lucas, she literally jumped in front of the suitcase to keep me from looking in it. Ok, maybe she didn't jump in front of it, but she might as well have! I could tell from her voice that she didn't want me looking in it." Brooke pouted.

Lucas chuckled a little. He knew that his girlfriend had a tendency to be a little overdramatic. "It's ok. Maybe if you ask her, she will tell you." Lucas suggested.

"No way! What would I say, 'Haley, I'm a nosy friend and I want to know what's in your suitcase right now'? I don't think so!" Brooke yelled, mimicking Lucas' words from just a few minutes ago.

"Ok, sorry, I didn't mean to get you all worked up." Lucas laughed.

"Broody, this is so not funny. What if her and Nathan are moving to Ecuador or something and we don't know because she's hiding the passports in her suitcase!"

"Brooke, I highly doubt that's the case. Now, do you want to come with me and take advantage of our last night here alone?" Brooke giggled when Lucas wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. He had a way of making her forget her worries in a few simple words.

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask." She laughed as he picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"What time did Tim say he was going to be back?" Nathan called to Haley as he sat on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes. 

"I don't know. I try to block out most of what he says." Haley chuckled as she finished brushing her teeth and rinsed her mouth out with water.

"That's understandable." Nathan laughed. He had been extremely surprised at how well Tim took the news of the baby this morning. Part of him thought that Tim still didn't quite understand. He was slow like that sometimes.

"I guess he'll be home way late, if he even comes home at all." Haley smiled as she emerged from the bathroom in one of Nathan's large t-shirts that she had grown accustomed to sleeping in.

"Hales," Nathan complained. "Why do you always wear my shirts? You know that it drives me crazy."

Haley only smiled. Yes, her wearing his clothes always did seem to drive him crazy, which is why she did it. She loved seeing him fight to stay in control, even though he really didn't have to. She slowly walked up to him and kissed him firmly on the lips, her hands positioned on either side of his face. "I'm sorry. I thought you like it when I wore your shirts." She pretended to pout but couldn't help when the smirk took over her face.

"Oh, you know that I love it when you wear my shirts." He laughed, kissing her again and letting his hands settle on her hips, slowly bringing her closer to him.

"Nate, what do you think Lucas is going to say?" She asked, obviously referring to the baby.

Nathan let out a small sigh, he knew that was coming, and he didn't really want to answer it. He knew that Lucas would probably freak out at first, he was so protective of Haley, but he didn't want to worry her so he decided that it would be best to bend the inevitable a little. "I think, he'll be surprised, and maybe a little upset at first, but he'll get over and be happy soon enough." He assured her.

A small smile crept across her face as she leaned in to kiss him again. "You always make me feel better." She smiled. "Even though I know you were sugar coating the truth. He's going to be mad isn't he?"

"He shouldn't be, but he probably will be for a day or two." Nathan replied honestly. In all reality, there was absolutely no reason that Lucas should be anything but happy for them, but knowing him, and knowing the way that he was constantly leery of Nathan's 'evil plan' to break Haley's heart on some level, Nathan knew that Lucas would indeed be upset at first.

"I just don't understand why he feels like he needs to protect me from you all the time." She sighed. Even though Lucas and Nathan had become closer, it was still no secret that Lucas never _fully_ accepted the fact that he and Haley were married.

"Don't worry about him." Nathan comforted her. "Who knows? Maybe we're underestimating him and he will be happy?" he suggested, only to be met by an unconvinced look from Haley.

"Ok, no more worrying about Lucas. For now at least." Haley smiled as she kissed Nathan one last time before crawling past him onto her side of the bed.

"Wait, that's it? We have the condo to ourselves for possibly the whole night, and all I get is a small good night kiss?" Nathan pouted. Haley smiled as she crawled back up to him, latching her arms around his neck, and pulling him into a deep and powerful kiss.

"Is that better?" She asked when she pulled away from him.

"I guess it's going to have to be." He said playfully as he watched her make her way back up the bed and lay her head on the pillow.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt him moving beside her and then she felt his head gently pressing into her stomach. "What are you doing?" She giggled when she opened her eyes and started to absent mindedly run her hand through his short dark hair.

"You didn't give me a chance to say goodnight to the baby." He mumbled against her stomach that was still covered by both his shirt and the blankets on the bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She laughed as he kissed the blanket on top of her belly and then lifted his head to look at her.

"That's ok. I kind of have to forgive you, don't I?" He joked as he left a sweet kiss on her lips.

"Yeah." She smiled. "I'm tired now, so can I go to sleep?"

"Well, maybe I'm not finished talking to him." Nathan joked.

"Him? Did I miss something?" She laughed.

"No, I was just trying it out." Nathan smiled.

"Ok, well, in that case, feel free to talk to 'him' as long as you don't keep me awake." She smiled coyly before closing her eyes again.

"What? Is that even possible?" He laughed when she shook her head 'no'. "Ok then, I'll go to sleep too." He crawled up next to her, leaving a small kiss on her forehead before wrapping his arms around her. He chuckled when she snuggled up closer to him, something she did every night. "Goodnight, I love you."

"I love you too." She whispered back.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone. First off, thank you for the reviews. I love them. I want to let you know that we will find out what's going on with Dan in the story soon, so sit tight. Also, how cute was Naley on Wednesday? Adorable. But am I the only one who thought that their happiness was a little unsettling? Almost like something bad is about to happen? idk, maybe I'm just a pessimist. ;-) Anyway, I hope you like the chapter and please tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 4**

Peyton Sawyer smiled as she pulled her little red convertible into an open parking space at the condo complex she was going to be staying in all summer. Sure, she was a little apprehensive about returning to the place that held so many memories, good and bad, but she was excited to get away from her hectic life at school and spend the summer relaxing with her friends.

It was going to be a little weird staying with Brooke and Lucas all summer. She was friends with them, but not nearly as good of friends as she was with Nathan or Tim. She was also hoping to get closer to Brooke this summer. They really had nothing in common, but Brooke had been open and accepting during their senior year when the two groups meshed together. She parked the car and slowly stepped out of it. She took a deep breath before grabbing her 2 bags out of the back seat and heading for the building.

_3 and a half years ago…_

"_Hey, what's up?" Haley said as Peyton approached the lunch table that she and Brooke were sitting at._

"_Nothing really, just got a text from Jake." Peyton smiled as she took a seat across from Haley and next to Brooke. It was the middle of their senior year and all three couples were still going strong. Peyton talked to Jake at least once a week and they communicated via text message in between phone calls._

"_Really? What did it say?" Brooke asked excitedly, loving the juiciness of Peyton's relationship with Jake._

"_He said that Jenny said her first word." Peyton responded happily. "She said 'dada'." _

"_Aw! That is too adorable." Haley added in. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Peyton adored that little girl._

"_Yeah, I'm thinking about driving down there this weekend for a visit." Peyton beamed._

"_I think that's a great idea." Brooke smiled. She always supported road trips for love._

"_What's a great idea?" Nathan asked as he dropped a kiss on Haley's forehead and plopped down in the seat next to her._

"_Peyton's thinking about visiting Jake this weekend." Haley smiled up at him. _

"_Oh cool. That sounds like fun." Nathan responded enthusiastically._

"_Where's Lucas at?" Peyton asked suddenly as she looked around and noticed that Brooke's boyfriend was mysteriously missing._

"_Oh, he had to retake his calculus test." Brooke answered as she stuffed her mouth with a bite of her turkey sandwich. "Remember how he was sick last week when we took the test?"_

"_Oh yeah, that test was so hard!" Peyton exclaimed._

"_What? No it wasn't. That was Mr. Miller's easiest test so far this year." Haley stated matter-of-factly as she took a sip of her water._

"_Tutor Girl, just because you're smarter than Mr. Miller doesn't mean that the rest of us are." Brooke joked. "Did you think the test was hard, Nathan?"_

"_Actually, I think I did pretty good on it." Nathan relied simply. _

"_Well." Haley corrected, causing Nathan to laugh a little._

"_What? You thought it was easy?" Peyton asked incredulously. "How is that possible? You barely passed geometry last year."_

"_Haley taught me how to do it." He defended himself._

"_Of course, you found a girlfriend who can help you stay out of Saturday school." Peyton joked._

"_Hey, I only had to go to that one time!" Nathan defended himself yet again. What was this, pick on Nathan day?_

"_Aw, I believe you, baby." Haley said sweetly as she leaned over to kiss his cheek softly. _

"_Oh my God. I still can't get over how cute you guys are." Brooke cooed. "You are totally going to get married and have cute Naley babies."_

"_Whoa, Brooke, slow down." Haley laughed._

"_No, it's true, your kids would be like the cutest kids ever." Peyton assured them before opening her cell phone to see her new text from Jake. Nathan and Haley just looked at each other before laughing. Their friends were crazy._

"_Is something wrong?" Haley asked when she noticed Peyton's mouth gaping open slightly as she stared at her phone. _

"_No, um, it's nothing."_

"_Peyton, for as long as I've known you, if you say 'nothing' it is something. So spill." Nathan prodded._

"_Jake said Jenny's mom is coming into town this weekend."_

_Present…_

The blond haired girl took a deep breath before knocking on the door to condo 9, her home for the next 3 months. Brooke had told her to just come in and had even had a key left at the entrance for her, but she wanted to alert them that she was there before just barging in.

"Peyton!" Brooke screamed as she swung open the door and pulled Peyton into a tight hug. "You're finally here!"

Brooke and Peyton really couldn't be considered best friends, but Brooke was just an overall outgoing person. They were friends, but Brooke treated Peyton as a best friend. Peyton always did the same, so anyone passing by would assume that they had been best friends since preschool. The only way to tell that the two girls had not been friends forever was Lucas.

Sure, Lucas liked Peyton, but he would never consider her his friend. She was easy enough to talk to, but he would never confide something personal to her as he would to Brooke or Haley. To him, although they had known each other for years, she was more like an acquaintance.

"What? Lucas isn't keeping you company?" Peyton joked.

"Oh, no, Lucas is fine. But now that you're here, I have someone to gossip with!" Brooke squealed. She really missed not having another girl around. When they were at college, there was always a girl around somewhere in the dorms…

"What about Haley? She's here." Peyton pointed out.

"Yeah, but she doesn't count because husband trumps best friend. Hence the reason I have had no one to share my gossip with." Brooke huffed. "Anyway, you are never going to believe this!"

"What's going on out here? We heard a scream." Haley yawned as she opened the door to condo 10. "Hey Peyton!" Haley immediately exited her condo and hugged her long lost friend, not caring that she was only wearing one of Nathan's t-shirts with her cheerleading shorts.

"Sorry, did we wake you up?" Brooke smiled innocently.

"It is 8:30 in the morning." Haley pointed out.

"Wait, you were sleeping at 8:30? Haley, what happened to you? I remember when you used to be up by 7:00." Peyton laughed.

"I was tired!" Haley defended herself.

"Why? Nathan keeping you up at night?" Brooke winked.

"Brooke!" Haley scolded. Truth be told, Nathan had been the one to keep her up a little late last night, but not for the reasons Brooke was insinuating. A small smile threatened to form on her face as she thought of how sweetly he had talked to her stomach the previous night.

"Ok, sorry." Brooke smiled. "Anyway, I know you guys want to hear what I just found out."

"Do we have a choice?" Peyton joked.

"No. Now get this, you know how I told you that Bevin and Skills eloped?" Both nodded their heads in response so Brooke continued. "Ok, well, they did it because Bevin's pregnant!"

"What!" Peyton yelled. "Are you serious?"

"Completely! I found out from Bevin's cousin's friend's dad yesterday when I went to buy some popsicles at the grocery. I had no idea that he owned the place." Brooke laughed.

"Wow. That's all I can even say." Peyton managed. She had never expected Skills and Bevin of all people to get pregnant at such a young age.

"I know. It's just terrible for her. I mean, they're only 21 and now their lives are practically over. They will, like, never have a free Friday night once the kid is born." Brooke said sadly and then looked to Haley who was being mysteriously quiet. "You ok, Tutor Girl?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm still waking up." She responded.

"Ok. Well, at least one good thing came out of her getting knocked up, she also got the ring." Brooke stated as she stared off into a space a little. Oh, the ring. How she wished she would get a ring in the future. Unfortunately, 'the ring' seemed to be the farthest thing from Lucas mind these days. "Why are you wearing that shirt, anyway?" She asked, changing her focus back to Haley and the oversized shirt she was wearing.

"It's comfortable." Haley shrugged, still a little unsettled by the previous conversation. If they thought it was bad that Bevin, a girl that they hardly knew, was pregnant, what were they going to think about her?

Brooke made an unconvinced look before Peyton decided to speak up. "It really is. I used to sleep in Jake's shirts all the time."

Both girls made sympathetic looks before pulling Peyton into a hug. It had been only a year since the break up and still Peyton was upset about it. She had been so sure that Jake was the one…

"It's ok buddy, we'll get your mind off of Jake. Speaking of, what's this dinner thing about tonight?" Brooke inquired, sending a prompting look to Haley.

"Nothing, we just thought it would be a good idea if we all went out to dinner since it's our first night here together." Haley said simply. She decided to go on once she saw the unconvinced looks on her friends' faces. "And, Nathan and I want to tell you something."

"Oh, A surprise? I love surprises!" Brooke clapped her hands excitedly.

"I hate surprises." Peyton said lightly. "Haley James Scott, you cannot expect me to wait until dinner to hear this do you?"

"Um, yeah." Haley laughed, trying to hide her nerves.

"Is it…no, you already got married. You…no, you already got me a present for my birthday. Oh my God! Did you guys buy a house! Wait, no! Nathan got drafted into the NBA! Oh my God, I can't wait to tell Lucas!" Brooke was almost jumping up and down.

"Brooke! I never said any of that." Haley pointed out.

"Oh, I get it, you want it to be a surprise. Ok, don't worry. My lips are sealed." Brooke giggled as she made a motion to 'zip' her lips. "I'm going inside to make some coffee. Do you guys want any?"

"I'll have some." Peyton smiled, picking up her bags to take them into the condo.

"I'll pass." Haley said politely. "But I'll see you guys later."

"Bye bye." Brooke smiled, before entering the condo behind Peyton. "That girl has been acting so weird lately. I have never known her to pass up coffee in the morning."

"Maybe she just didn't want any." Peyton shrugged as she lugged her suitcases back into her room.

"Maybe…" No, there was definitely something weird going on, Brooke just knew it.

* * *

"Hey, Peyton. Haley told me that you got here this morning. Sorry, I didn't get home until about 11." Tim said as he barged into Peyton, Brooke, and Lucas's condo. "In the morning." He added. 

"You know what, Tim? I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually missed you." Peyton laughed as she got up off the couch where she had been reading a magazine and hugged him.

"Ew, Tim's here?" Brooke said as she emerged from her bedroom in a mud mask.

"What the hell did you do to your face?" Tim asked with a laugh. "It actually looks better than normal."

"Shut up, Dim. I just want to have a good complexion for our outing tonight." She responded simply.

"Outing? Is that what we're calling it?" Tim asked as he plopped down on the couch where Peyton had previously been sitting.

"Hey, what do you know about Nathan and Haley's surprise?" Brooke asked excitedly.

"Surprise?" Tim looked genuinely confused until realization dawned on him. "Oh, that? I know what it is."

"What? You know!" Peyton yelled excitedly. If there was one person in the world who would give up a secret, whether it was on accident or on purpose, it was Tim Smith. "Tell us."

"No! They want to tell you themselves." Tim stated firmly as he reached over to grab Peyton's Coke and take a big drink of it.

"Hey! Get your own!" Peyton scolded. "And tell us! They won't care."

"Um, yeah, they will. Nathan told me that if I told you he would burn my Buzz Lightyear pillow." No one but Nathan and Peyton really knew how much Tim loved that Buzz Lightyear pillow, and if keeping his mouth shut kept his pillow safe, he would keep his mouth shut.

"Nathan threatened you?"

"You have a Buzz Lightyear pillow?"

"They just want to tell you themselves." Tim said as he crossed his arms.

Peyton watched him suspiciously. If Nathan threatened him about spilling this secret, it must be a pretty big deal. But, if Nathan and Haley didn't want anyone to find out, then why did they tell Tim? "How did you find out about whatever it is?"

"They told me." Tim said as if Peyton was the dumbest person in the world. She always asked the stupidest questions.

"Why did they tell you?" Brooke interrogated. Why would they tell Tim, but not her?

"Well, I do live with them, Brooke." Tim said, annoyed. If they didn't stop asking questions, he would probably slip up, and he really didn't want his Buzz pillow burned. "I'm leaving. Nice to see you Peyton." Tim huffed before exiting the condo, leaving an exasperated Brooke and Peyton.

* * *

"Hales, are you almost ready?" Nathan called through the bathroom door. They were supposed to meet everyone else at the restaurant in 20 minutes. He had no idea that it took 40 minutes to put on makeup. 

"Yeah, give me 5 more minutes." She yelled back as she applied her mascara, again. It seemed like every time she finished, she would start crying and ruin it all. She knew it was a little more than hormones too, she was extremely nervous about tonight.

"Ok," Nathan sighed. He knew how worried she was about their friends' reactions to the news of the baby; he wasn't exactly looking forward to it himself. This baby was definitely going to surprise all of them as much as it surprised him.

"Nate," He heard her call softly from the inside of the bathroom.

"Yeah?" When she didn't answer, he reached down to the doorknob and slowly opened the door. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned when he saw her mascara smudged and starting to run down her face.

"It happened again." She whined.

"What did?" He was confused and a little worried because, if her red and puffy eyes were any indication, this wasn't the first time she had cried in the last half an hour.

"I started crying." She bawled as she laid her head on his chest. "Every time I put my make-up on, I start to cry again."

"Why are you crying?" He asked softly as he pulled her back to look into her eyes.

"Because…I don't know…because I'm scared." She whispered as she let her head fall back onto his chest.

"Haley, you don't have to be scared. They're all going to be happy for us." Nathan assured her. "I'll be there with you, and I bet Brooke and Peyton will even hug you." He chuckled. Brooke would hug her even if their news was that Haley bought a new pair of socks.

"But Lucas won't." Haley said sadly.

"Listen to me, Lucas might be upset at first, but he'll get over it. By tomorrow he will probably be asking us to name the little guy after him." Nathan laughed.

Haley started laughing too then. "You are just so convinced that it's a boy."

"What can I say? I have a feeling." He laughed playfully, causing her to roll her eyes and smile. He felt so much relief upon seeing her smile; it was his favorite thing in the world, her smile.

"Ok, well, you and your feeling can go get the car started. I'll just go without makeup." Haley giggled.

"Are you sure?" She gave him a questioning look. What did he mean was she sure? Was he implying that she needed makeup? As if reading her mind, Nathan quickly clarified, "I meant are you sure you're up for this?"

"Oh," She laughed. "Yeah, they're going to find out eventually, right?"

"I love you." He smiled as he kissed her softly before following her directions and heading out to start the car.

Haley quickly washed the remainder of her makeup off, grabbed her purse, and headed out after her husband into the parking lot.

"You ready?" He asked once she got in on the passenger side and let out a deep breath.

"As I'll ever be." It was weird because no matter how scared she was to tell their friends about their baby, part of her was also excited. She wanted to be able to share this with them and there had been so many times over the course of the last few months that she wanted to tell Brooke or Peyton, but she and Nathan had agreed that it would be best to wait and tell them all together. This was the first time that they were all together, so time was up.

Fifteen minutes later, Nathan parked the Range Rover in the closest available parking spot at the restaurant. They both got out of the car and Haley grabbed Nathan's hand as they made their way in.

"We're here for Scott." Nathan said to the host when the entered.

"Yes, your friends are already here." The host said as he motioned for them to follow him into the nonsmoking section.

"Here we go." Haley mumbled as Nathan gripped her hand tighter to reassure her and they followed the host to the table where Lucas, Tim, Brooke, and Peyton were all staring expectantly at them.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, thank you to everyone who reviewed. You people can be so sweet. :-) I don't have anything else to say, so enjoy chapter 5!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 5**

"Well, I'm glad to see that you guys finally made it." Lucas joked as Nathan and Haley approached the table hand in hand.

"Lucas, we're 5 minutes early." Nathan pointed out as he pulled a chair out for Haley and then sat down next to her.

"Yeah, but Brooke said we had to get here early." Lucas whined. "Which, technically, makes you late."

"It is not my fault." Brooke protested. "I just wanted to get here before them so they could tell us their surprise as soon as they got here."

"What surprise?" Lucas asked confusedly. He had been golfing with one of his college friends who happened to be down here all day and he had no idea what "surprise" they were talking about.

"Spill." Brooke commanded, ignoring Lucas.

"Brooke, don't you at least want to wait until after we eat?" Haley asked hopefully. She wanted to tell Brooke and Peyton so badly, but she also wanted to avoid telling Lucas for as long as humanly possible. It was going to be weird, he was practically her brother.

"Hell no! I don't think I can wait any longer! Since Tim refused to tell us what it is, I'm extremely excited. This must be big!" She squealed.

"'Refused to tell' being the key words!" Tim defended himself after receiving an unfriendly look from Nathan.

"Ok, now I'm curious. How come I'm the only one who didn't know that Nathan and Haley have some sort of surprise to share?" Lucas complained. He hated being out of the loop.

"Oh, we just found out about said surprise this morning." Peyton clarified. "So don't feel too bad."

"Whatever. So what is this big surprise?" Lucas asked, turning his attention back to Nathan and Haley.

"We're going to tell you after we eat." Nathan said resolutely when he saw Haley look at him with pleading eyes, begging him to prolong the inevitable, at least for a little while.

"Nathan Scott! You will not tell us after we eat! You better tell us now before I come over there and force it out of you!" Brooke threatened. She wanted to know this secret and she wanted to know now!

"Brooke…" Haley started, trying to think of a logical excuse to postpone the announcement. Brooke gave her a serious look and Haley knew that there was no way that she was going to let this go for another second. She let out a large breath and resolved to tell them all now. "I…um…I'm…"

Noticing her struggle with forcing the words out, obviously because of Lucas's death glare across the table, Nathan decided to intervene. "We're having a baby."

Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas's mouths all fell open in astonishment while Tim just took a drink of his beer that he was now legally allowed to drink. They all sat in silence for literally 20 seconds before Brooke decided to say something. "Tutor Girl! Are you serious?!"

Haley only nodded as a smile started creeping across her face. No matter how nervous she was about Lucas's reaction, she couldn't help but get happy when she talked about her baby.

"Oh my God! I'm going to be an aunt! Well, sort of!" Brooke squealed as she got up out her seat and pulled Haley into a large hug. Nathan gave Haley an 'I told you so' look and she smiled in return. This wasn't so bad so far.

"Wow, congratulations you guys." Peyton said with a smile from her seat. She couldn't believe that Nathan, her best friend Nathan, was going to be a father!

"Thanks." Nathan replied with a grin, trying to ignore the intent stare that Lucas was sending his way.

"Is it a boy or a girl? When is it due? Oh my God, you have to let me throw you a baby shower!" Brooke rambled, still holding on to Haley.

"Um, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, it's due in October, and um…I don't know about the baby shower…" Haley laughed. "Brooke?"

"Yes?"

"Can you let go of me now?" Haley smiled. She was so happy that Brooke was excited for them, but that didn't change the fact that Lucas hadn't said a word yet.

"Oh, yeah, of course." Brooke laughed sheepishly. "But wait," She quickly put her hands on Haley's slowly growing stomach. "Aw! I think I felt it move!"

"What?" Nathan asked with slight jealousy. He had put his hand on her stomach too many times to count and he never felt the baby move.

"No, I think that was your hand moving." Haley laughed. "I haven't even felt the baby move yet."

"Oh." Brooke said, disappointed that she hadn't really felt her new favorite Scott move.

At this time, the waitress came up to take their orders and an awkward silence filled the table when Lucas ordered his hamburger. This was the first time he had spoken since their announcement.

The rest of the meal continued with light and awkward conversation, Lucas saying a total of about 3 words. By the time they had all eaten and they were waiting for the check, Haley couldn't take his silence any longer. "Lucas, will you please say something?"

"What do you want me to say, Haley" Lucas grumbled. "Do you want me to say that I'm happy for you? Because I won't say that."

"Lucas, come on." Brooke warned him a calming voice as she patted his leg with her hand.

"I'm not asking you to lie to me, I'm asking you to tell me what you think." Haley argued.

"What do I think…hmm…Well, I think that you have pretty much ruined your life! I don't understand how you could be so careless." Lucas said in a slightly angry voice.

"Hey, stop yelling at her." Nathan snapped. "I would think that you'd be happy for your friend." He said under his breath. If Lucas really cared about Haley, he would be happy for them…

"Oh, don't even get me started, Nathan." Apparently Lucas had been holding in these feelings all throughout dinner and was letting them out explosively right now, and the whole restaurant could hear him. "I can't even say the things I want to say to you because we are in a public place."

By this time, a few tears had fallen from Haley's eyes. All she wanted was the support of her friend, why did he always have to be so difficult?

"Lucas, you really need to calm down." Peyton said evenly from her seat at the other end of the table.

"I just don't get it Haley, you decide to wait until you're married to have sex, but then you get pregnant after being married for only, what, 6 months? You used to be so responsible." Lucas knew that his words were hurting her, but he just wanted her to see how foolish she was in letting herself get pregnant in the first place.

"Ok, you know what? We're leaving." Nathan said sternly after noticing the tears that were streaming down his wife's face. He knew that Lucas really didn't mean the harsh things he was saying, but that didn't keep him from resenting him. He quickly used the back of his hand to wipe away some of her tears, before taking her hand in his. "Tim, can you cover me and Haley's food? We'll pay you back at home."

"Sure man." Tim said flatly. Quite frankly, he was bored out of his mind right now. The news of the pregnancy hadn't been a shock to him and it really didn't surprise him that Lucas was blowing up about it. He always knew that the guy had anger management issues.

As Nathan and Haley walked away from the group, Nathan's arm tightly holding a crying Haley to him, a familiar face watched from a table nearby. He had heard the whole thing, and he thought the situation was hilarious. This reminded him of the time that he was eating dinner in Hollywood and he overheard Oprah yelling at her manager over the phone…Anyway, now that he knew that those two were in town, and about their current situation, the summer was starting to get more interesting.

* * *

"Lucas, I cannot believe that you yelled at Haley like that! And in front of all those people! For God's sake, you made her cry!" Brooke scolded once they got back to their condo and were locked safely in their room. "Why aren't you happy for them?" 

"Happy? Are you serious? They are 21 years old for crying out loud! They are not ready for a baby!" Lucas shouted. Was it really that hard for anyone other than him to think logically?

"How the hell do you know if they're ready or not?" Brooke screamed. "Is anyone ever _ready_ to be a parent? Because they seem to be good candidates for the job. I mean think about it, they are in love, they're committed to each other, they trust each other, and are always on the same page!"

Now Lucas was a little confused, what did being on the same page have to do with his best friend being pregnant? "Brooke, I understand that they're in love, but by being stupid, they have ruined their lives!" He defended himself.

"How has it ruined their lives? Are you saying that if I was pregnant, your life would be completely over?" Brooke asked in almost a hurt voice.

"That's different, Brooke."

"Really? How is that different?"

"Because I'm not Nathan. I just know that he is going to end up hurting her." Lucas stated firmly.

"Oh my God, will you get over that already! They have been together for 4 years! He's not going anywhere." Brooke yelled. Sometimes Lucas could be the most stubborn person in the world. "You know, Haley's lucky that she has him and that he's already devoted to her."

"He'd better be devoted to her. I guess you're right though, if they weren't married, they would have to get married, for the kid's sake I mean."

Brooke couldn't even believe what she was hearing. "So you're saying that if I got pregnant, you would marry me?" So, basically, she had to have his baby before he would consider sharing a life with her.

"Like I said, that is different. Why do you keep bringing up this 'if it was me' crap? Are you pregnant?" Lucas was still yelling, his temper getting worse with each passing word that came out of either of their mouths.

"No, I'm not." Her voice was almost shaking now. "So, you don't want to marry me?"

"What? When did I say that?" He was getting a little annoyed by her PMSy behavior.

"You said it would be 'different'. So, does that mean that even if I was the mother of your child, you still wouldn't want to marry me?" She was absolutely livid at this point. Why was he so afraid of commitment?

"Ugh, Brooke, I never said that!" She was being so annoying! All she was doing was twist his words around to make him sound like a terrible person.

"You didn't have to." She said softly.

"Ok, I can't take this anymore. I'm leaving." Lucas said furiously.

"What? Where are you going?" She asked, her voice getting softer and more sincere.

"I don't know. A hotel probably. I'll see you tomorrow." He grumbled as he grabbed a jacket off of a nearby chair and left the condo, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"Haley, I'm sure he didn't mean it." Nathan comforted as he ran his hand soothingly up and down her back. They were sitting at the kitchen table with a large pile of wadded up tissues in front of them. _God, I'm going to kick Lucas's ass…_He thought. Haley had been crying nonstop since they got home about 30 minutes ago and had already used a full box of tissues. Lucas couldn't just say such cruel things, make Haley cry, and not get an earful from him. 

"Yes he did. He hates me." She bawled.

"Baby, he doesn't hate you. He just needs time to cool down." Nathan assured her as he used his eyes to motion for Tim to come over and sit down in an attempt to take her mind off of his brother.

"So, Haley, you didn't throw up anymore today, did you?" Tim asked as he took a seat across from her, honestly not caring too much about the answer. He had only asked because Nathan gave him the 'help' look.

Haley shook her head before blowing her nose again. Tim quickly shrugged his shoulders at Nathan as if to say that he had no other idea. Nathan mouthed a few words to him just as Haley reached for another tissue.

"When did the baby drew? Oh, I mean, when is the baby due?" He asked, getting an accepting look from his friend.

Haley lowered the tissue and a weak smile could be seen forming on her face. "October 10th." She said in the happiest voice either of them had heard her use for the past half an hour. Nathan nodded his head at Tim to tell him to keep going.

"Oh, uh, when do you find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Well, we have a doctor's appointment in a few weeks…" Haley trailed off.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Nathan was pleasantly surprised by the sincerity of Tim's last question. It sounded as if he was actually interested to know any names that they had thought of.

"We haven't really thought of any yet." Haley smiled, wide this time, her tears subsiding. Tim and Nathan mentally gave each other high fives. "But, my mom wants us to name it after my great aunt Gertie Gail if it's a girl."

"What? You never told me that." Nathan grimaced. There was no way he would ever name his little girl Gertie Gail.

"That's because I never considered it seriously." She smiled at him, watching his small layer of nervousness disappear. She almost started laughing because she realized that he thought she would actually consider naming their baby Gertie Gail Scott.

"Fascinating." Tim said in a rather monotone voice. He had just wanted to know if they would name it after him, but apparently that wasn't an option. And they called themselves his friends…

"Haley, why don't you take a nap or something?" Nathan suggested softly. "You've had a rough day."

"It's too late for a nap but too early to go to bed." Haley sniffled. She was feeling pretty lousy, but she didn't feel like sleeping. "Will you watch a movie with me? We can rent one."

"Of course I will." Nathan smiled as he leaned over to kiss her on the top of the head. "Just no chick flicks, I'm still recovering from when you made me watch A Walk to Remember."

"Ok, no chick flicks, but that means no scary movies." She compromised.

"Yeah, you guys have a little problem." Tim said, slightly annoyed. "I'm playing NBA Live right now."

Nathan sent Tim a very serious glare as if to say 'you had better be kidding' just as Haley started to shed a few more tears. "That's ok, Tim. I guess I'll just go cry in my room." Haley was partially being sincere with those words, but also trying to guilt Tim into letting them watch a movie.

"Tim, don't forget that I know where your Buzz Lightyear pillow is." Nathan warned him.

Tim's eyes went wide as he gave in. "Fine! You can use the TV. But only if I get to pick the movie." Nathan and Haley both gave him questioning looks. Why would he want to pick the movie they watched? "Because I'm going to watch it too." He explained as if they were both stupid for not knowing that in the first place.

"Fine." Haley agreed. "But remember, no scary movies."

"And no chick flicks." Nathan added as Tim grabbed his keys off the counter. "And don't wreck my car." Tim waved indifferently over his shoulder as he exited the condo. "So, what do you think the chances are that he'll pick out a good movie?"

"Um, slim to none." Haley smiled as she moved over to sit on his lap. "Thank you."

"For what?" He smiled. He honestly didn't care what he did to deserve her sitting on his lap with her face just inches from his, as long as she was there, he was happy.

"For making me feel better. I'm sorry I freaked out about Lucas freaking out and used a whole box of tissues." She smiled sheepishly. "Am I a weirdo?"

"No. Well, sort of." He joked as she playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Why would you be a weirdo?"

"Because, 5 minutes ago I was crying hysterically and now I'm practically fine." She admitted as her forehead creased a little in frustration. That was definitely not something a normal person did.

"No, you are not a weirdo." Nathan confirmed sweetly.

Haley smiled at him, loving the way she was just about to forget all about Lucas and his little temper tantrum. She affectionately stretched her arms around the back of his neck and leaned in to cover his mouth with a sweet kiss.

Nathan smiled against her lips. After four years of kissing her, it still wasn't getting old. He could kiss her all day every day… He instinctively wrapped his arms around her back, bringing her closer to him. Haley tenderly played with the short hairs on the back of his neck and let out a soft gasp when his cold hands came in contact with the skin on her lower back. "Your hands are cold." He whispered with a grin.

Nathan only laughed a little as he brought on of his could hands to the front to rest on her stomach. "Do you think the baby can feel if my hands are cold?"

"Yeah, I think she can." Haley smiled at his sweetness.

"She? Is there something you want to tell me?" He joked.

"I was just trying it out." She smirked. She glanced over at the clock and noticed that it was 7:58. After they watched the movie it would probably be around 10:00 and she would be ready to go to sleep. "I'm going to change into my pajamas before Tim gets back."

"Don't you mean one of my t-shirts?" Nathan joked.

"If you must know, then yes, I do mean one of you t-shirts." She leaned down to kiss him again before climbing off of him.

_Why can't Tim take an extra couple of hours?_ Nathan groaned internally.

10 minutes later, Nathan and Haley were making out on the couch when Tim walked in. "Oh my God, tell me you guys didn't do it on the couch." Tim whined when he noticed that Haley was wearing one of Nathan's oversized Duke shirts.

"Well, Tim, not that it's any of your business, but these are my pajamas." Haley giggled. "What movie did you get?" She excitedly got up off of Nathan, who gave Tim a rather annoyed look, and tried to look in the plastic bag that he had set on the table.

"Wait!" Tim snapped as he snatched the bag out of her hand. "Just sit on the couch and I will put it in." He instructed. Haley did as she was told and plopped back down onto the couch next to her husband.

Tim made his way over to the DVD player and put the movie in. He then turned off the lights off and sat down nest to Haley on the couch. As soon as the title screen came on, Haley screamed. "Tim! You got Saving Private Ryan?! This is a shooting movie!" She covered her eyes and buried her face in Nathan's shoulder in order to avoid the gory pictures that were popping up on the screen.

"She means it's a war movie." Nathan clarified upon noticing Tim's confused look. "She doesn't like movies with blood."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" Tim whined. "We're watching it." He pressed play before either of them could object. "Haley, this is a good movie. I don't know how you can not like it."

"Well, let's see, I don't like the fact that it shows thousands of people dying. I also don't like that they take a very significant point in history and twist it for entertainment. The only good thing about this movie is that Matt Damon is in it." Haley huffed.

"Ok, how about you can keep your eyes covered during all the fighting scenes and I'll tell you when they're over. Deal?" Nathan proposed. He knew how much war movies scared her. She was the type of person who imagined every character as someone she loved and then was always devastated when that character died.

"Ok. Tim, turn it down. I don't even want to hear the gunshots." She buried her face in her husband's shoulder again as the movie started.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 6**

"It still makes me so mad every time he lets that guy go. I'm just thinking 'Hello! He's going to kill you, you moron!'" Tim said, irritated by the scene from Saving Private Ryan that was playing right now.

"Tim, how can you be so heartless?" Haley asked incredulously. "Are you saying that he should have killed that poor man just because he was fighting for the other side?"

"Yes! Then maybe he wouldn't have died!" Tim almost shouted. "It's a pattern, Haley. Every time a good guy shows some compassion for a bad guy, it comes back to bite them in the ass."

"I had no idea that you guys would get so into this movie." Nathan smirked as he watched his wife and his best friend fight over which solution was better, to kill or not to kill. It was actually quite amusing.

"Well, what do you think?" Haley asked, looking up at him through the dark room.

"Uh…" _Shit,_ He didn't want to answer that. I mean, the answer was obvious; he would blow the guy to smithereens. It was a war, you had to kill to survive and clearly if the American in the movie would have killed the bad guy, he might have survived. "I think it depends on the situation." He said slowly.

Haley started giggling a little bit because she knew from that answer that he agreed with Tim. "It's ok, you can just say that you would kill the guy. Men have absolutely no conscience."

"Yes we do." Tim grumbled. "Now, can you please be quiet so we can finish the movie?"

By the end of the movie, Haley was full-on bawling as she hid her face in Nathan's chest and the final battle scene played on the TV. About halfway through the movie she had decided that it was getting a little too scary and had climbed into her husband's lap. "Tim, I told you this was a bad idea." Nathan said playfully.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that she can't handle blood?" Tim defended himself.

"Tim, you know that she can't even stand real blood, so why would fake blood be any different?" Nathan chuckled as machine gun fire sounded through the speakers on the TV and Haley pressed her hands closer to her ears. "It's almost over, Hales."

"Tim, can you fast-forward it? Please?" Haley pleaded.

"No way! We haven't even seen the part where Captain Miller dies!" Tim said back loudly over the noise of the movie.

"He dies? Oh my gosh, he is so sweet though!" Haley started crying again, war movies made her so sad. War just seemed so unnecessary to her.

"Baby, that's what happens in war." Nathan reminded her. "It doesn't matter if you're 'sweet'. And besides, it's not like Tom Hanks really died. It's just a character."

"Yeah, but in World War II so many people did die and it just makes me so sad."

Haley's face was still hidden in Nathan's chest when the movie ended and Tim turned the lights back on. "Well that was annoying!" He proclaimed. "Jeez, Haley, If I had known that you were going to sob during the whole thing and make me turn the volume down to where I can't even hear it over your sniffles, then I would have just gone to Peyton's to watch it. At least she doesn't get all babyish when we watch war movies." He grumbled as he put the DVD back in its case and turned the TV off.

"Tim, you are the meanest person I have ever met." Haley cried as she tapped Nathan as if to tell him to yell at Tim.

"Tim, that was a little uncalled for." Nathan agreed with a playful smile. Haley was definitely being a little over emotional right now, but he would never say that to her face for fear of being banished to the couch for the night.

"Yeah, whatever. You have to say that because you married her." Tim retorted. This pregnancy thing was already getting old. Was he going to have to deal with her mood swings all summer?

Haley stuck her tongue out at him before kissing Nathan on the cheek and then getting up to go to the bathroom and wipe the tears from her eyes. She wasn't really upset about the movie anymore at all, she actually felt fine other than being mad at Tim for yelling at her.

Once Haley had shut the door, Tim decided that it was safe to talk again. "Dude, what's her problem? She's never seen a war movie before?"

"No, she has. She just doesn't like them. They freak her out almost as much as clowns." Nathan said simply as he got up off the couch and took a water bottle out of the fridge. Haley always wanted to drink water after she cried.

"Well, she didn't have to stay in here and ruin the movie for us." Tim huffed. He hadn't been able to enjoy the brilliance of the movie because Haley kept blabbering and crying during the whole thing.

Nathan just shrugged. "I didn't mind." He said with a smirk.

"That's only because she was sitting on top of you during half of it! But me, I couldn't hear a word that was being said on the TV because all the words were coming from Haley's mouth." Tim complained. Obviously Nathan had already learned how to deal with the fact that he got her pregnant and was therefore not going to get to enjoy good movies anymore.

Then, Haley emerged from the bathroom looking much more composed and both guys noticed that her crying had ceased. "Ok, Tim, I'm sorry I cried hysterically during the movie." She apologized and then happily took the water bottle from Nathan's hand. "And you, you know me too well."

Nathan laughed. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, it's a very good thing." She smiled as she stood on her tip toes to kiss him.

"Can't you guys wait until I'm out of the room?" Tim groaned as he retreated into his bedroom, leaving Nathan and Haley laughing.

"I love that." Nathan said softly as they stopped laughing.

"What?" She smiled as she took a large swig of her water.

"Your laugh. This is the first time you've laughed since dinner."

Haley smiled at him and set her water bottle down on the table. "You, Nathan Scott, can be quite charming."

"I know." He shrugged playfully.

"I'm still worried about Lucas." She admitted suddenly. "I want him to be here for this. I just don't understand how he can think this is a mistake." Her hand went down to rest protectively on her stomach.

"No, he doesn't think it's a mistake, he was just surprised." Nathan assured her as he pulled her close to him. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the way Lucas behaved at the restaurant, in fact, he was a little insulted, but he knew that what Haley needed to hear was that Lucas didn't mean it. "He just needs a day or two to cool down."

"Nathan, he can't just take a day or two to calm down. I don't think I can take him yelling at me again." She said sadly. She wanted to be able to look past his hurtful comments and write it off as impulsive behavior, but her best friend disapproving of her baby really hurt her feelings.

Nathan's brow furrowed in thought. He didn't want Lucas yelling at her any more than she did. It wasn't healthy. "How about we take off for a few days to give him the time he needs?"

"I don't get it." Haley giggled. "What do you mean, 'take off'?"

"How about we drive up to Charlotte and see Bobby? I mean, we haven't gone up there in over a half a year, and someone's got to tell him about the baby."

Haley smiled to herself. This seemed to be the perfect idea. They needed to get away for a couple of days and Bobby would surely be happy for the visit. It was still a little weird for her to think that she was on good terms with the man that beat her as a child, but it was true.

_3 and a half years ago…_

_It was around Thanksgiving in the middle of their senior year in high school and Haley had decided that it was time to let the past go and forgive her abusive uncle after receiving some heartfelt letters of contrition from him since the trial during the summer. You can't hold grudges forever, can you? Now, after 3 hours of driving, she was standing just outside of the room in which she would see her uncle for the first time since the trial._

_Nathan opened the large iron door that led to the visiting area of the penitentiary and ushered Haley through. She felt a little bit better about being here because Nathan was with her. She had told him that she would do it alone, but he had insisted on coming with her._

_Haley let out a long breath as she saw a uniformed officer lead her uncle through the door on the other side and tell him to take a seat in one of the chairs._

"_You ready?" Nathan whispered and she nodded her head._

"_Yes, I need to do this." She looked over to see Bobby sit down at the middle seat and then she turned back to Nathan. "Will you come with me?"_

_Nathan's heart just about melted when he saw his girlfriend's pleading eyes. He could tell that she was petrified of talking to Bobby, let alone forgive him. He took her hand in his to give her his answer and she smiled weakly up at him in appreciation. They walked over to the seat opposite of Bobby and Haley sat down in it as Nathan pulled up another chair so he could sit beside her. Bobby smiled and picked up the phone that was positioned to his left and Haley did the same._

"_Hi Haley." He was wearing an orange prison uniform and his wrists were bound together by handcuffs._

"_Hi." She was very apprehensive about this meeting. Should she really forgive the man that had repeatedly abused her for a few years during her childhood?_

"_I'm glad you came. Did you get my letters?" Nathan had been a little leery of Bobby's motives up until now. He seemed to be genuinely happy to see his niece and also very remorseful for his past actions._

"_Yeah, I got them." Haley seemed to notice the sincerity in his voice and relaxed a little but. Right now, he sounded like the uncle she had known and loved before all of the abuse._

"_Haley, I meant every word of it. You will never know how sorry I am and how ashamed I am of the man I used to be." Bobby said honestly. She had to believe him because if he didn't get her forgiveness, he didn't know how he would live with himself. _

"_I know Bobby." Haley had long ago dropped the 'Uncle' from Bobby's name because no real uncle would beat their niece. "I know you didn't mean it."_

"_I really want your forgiveness, but I understand if it's too much to ask." In all honesty, he didn't know if he would forgive himself if he was in her situation. He had beaten the crap out of her, something that he had grown to despise about his past over the years._

"_I, um, I forgive you." Haley managed to say. It seemed easier than she had thought it would be. Maybe it was because Bobby seemed to be truly sorry, or maybe it was because he was in jail for life so he could never hurt her again. _

_Bobby's face got a little brighter and Nathan noticed. Maybe the son of a bitch really was sorry. "Are you sure? Because I wouldn't forgive me if I were you." He said seriously._

"_No, I'm sure." Haley repeated. "I forgive you. I mean, who are we without forgiveness, right?"_

_Bobby smiled. He distinctly remembered telling her something like that when she came home from preschool crying because one of the other kids sat in the seat that she always sat in. "Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me. I actually have a question for you, though."_

"_Ok…" _

"_I know this is probably above and beyond anything you would ever want, but I was kind of hoping that you could come visit me every now and then and we can talk. You know, like we did when you were little." Bobby felt like such a pansy for saying something like that, but the truth was that he really did want to have some sort of good relationship with her. He wanted to be a part, even if it was a microscopic part, of his niece's life like all good uncles should be._

_Haley looked over at Nathan for a moment, searching for advice on what to say. Should she really let him back into a small part of her life? She remembered how when she was younger, before all of the abuse, she had actually been really close to Bobby and maybe there was a chance that they could be that way again. Nathan gave her a look that told her that she needed to make up her own mind on this one. "Um, I guess we could try it."_

_Bobby broke into a smile. "Thank you, Haley. But, I actually have one last question for you." Haley nodded as if to tell him to continue. "Who's the guy?"_

_Haley actually laughed at her uncle's question. She had not expected to laugh when she and Nathan were coming up here, she had expected to be very serious the whole time. "This is my boyfriend, Nathan." She held the phone up in between her and Nathan so that he could speak too._

"_You're the one that was with her at the trial, right?" Bobby asked._

"_Yes sir." Nathan answered politely. He didn't know why he was using manners to talk to a guy that was in jail, especially one who abused the girl he loved when she was little, but Haley had kind of set the tone by forgiving him, and Nathan figured that he should probably try to do the same._

"_Huh." Bobby stated. He had seen them together briefly at the trial over the summer and even he could tell that the boy was head over heals for his niece. There was something about him that seemed so familiar though, almost like he had seen him before. "What did you say your name was again?"_

"_Nathan Scott." Nathan repeated._

"_As in, Dan Scott's son?" Bobby asked incredulously and Nathan nodded his head. "You do know that your dad I in the cell two down from me for arson and attempted murder, right?" He addressed the question to Nathan but he was really saying it for Haley. Did she know that her boyfriend's dad was a convict?_

_Nathan sighed, he had tried to forget that his father was within about 100 feet of him. "Yes, I know."_

_Haley gave Bobby a look that told him that she knew as well. As long as she was ok with it, then he was too. He shouldn't be judging Dan Scott when he was in jail too. Then, the officer came back into the room to announce that Bobby's visiting time was up because lunch was being served. They said their goodbyes and Haley left feeling a new sense of respect for her uncle. Sure, he had done some terrible things, but he had really changed for the better. _

_Present…_

Since that day, Haley and Nathan had gone back to visit Bobby at least once a year but tried to get up there as much as possible. Over the years, Haley and her uncle had surprisingly grown close again and Bobby had come to respect Nathan as his Nephew in Law, if such a thing even existed.

"But what about Dan?" Haley asked finally. The last time they had gone to visit Bobby, around Christmas time, they had also talked to Dan to tell him about their marriage. Dan had been his usually self, an ass.

"We don't have to see him if you don't want to." Nathan said. "But, he has the right to know that he's going to be a grandpa."

"No, you're right. We need to tell him." Haley concluded. "I think it's a good idea. Going to Charlotte, I mean." She smiled. Sure, the 4 hour drive was going to be kind of repetitive since they just drove down here a week ago, but it would provide the time that was needed for Lucas to calm down and for her to get over all of the mean things that he had said.

"Ok, do you want to go tomorrow? Or next week? Or-"

"Tomorrow. I mean, that's kind of the point isn't it?" Haley giggled. "I'm going to go pack!" She was excited that Nathan had suggested such a brilliant idea. Not only was she going to get much needed alone time with her husband, but she was happy about getting to see Bobby again.

"You're the boss." Nathan confirmed as he left a sweet kiss on her lips and she headed into the bedroom to gather a change of clothes and anything else she might need for their overnight stay in Charlotte.

-

"I don't know what to do, Peyton." Brooke said sullenly as they walked together to take the trash to the dumpster. "I mean, it's like he's afraid to commit. We are almost out of college and he has never once brought up marriage."

"Give it time, Brooke. Just because Nathan did the whole young marriage thing doesn't mean that Lucas is ready for that." Peyton reassured her. "I'm sure he'll be thinking of settling down in a few years."

"I know, Peyton. I know he will. It just worries me that whenever I bring up anything about the future, like how many kids I want to have someday, or where I want to go on my honeymoon, he changes the subject!" Brooke was getting really worked up about this. Was there something wrong with her that would make him not want to marry her?

"Some guys are just like that. They don't like to talk about the future."

"And it really doesn't make it any better that he stormed out tonight. I mean who the hell knows when he's going to be back or where he even is. It's like he's trying to slowly break my heart!" Brooke started to slow down her walking pace because the large bag of garbage she was carrying was a getting a little heavy.

"That's a little dramatic don't you think?" Peyton smiled. "I'm sure he's not trying to break your heart. He's just shocked about the whole Nathan and Haley baby thing."

"I just don't understand him! I'll admit, I was shocked, but I'm happy for them. I would have thought he would be too." Peyton looked at Brooke for a second, trying to decide whether or not she actually thought that Lucas would be happy for them at first. Lucas was probably the only person that would be unhappy. "Haley's our best friend, we should be supporting her, not tearing her down."

"Yeah, Nathan's my best friend and I'm happy for him, so I'm assuming that on some level Lucas is happy too. He just doesn't know it yet." Peyton decided.

"I hope you're right. I would hate to see him resent his own niece or nephew just because of…I don't even know. I don't even know what his problem is. I swear, he had man PMS." Both girls started laughing as they finally reached the dumpster and heaved the heavy bags over the top and into the smelly metal box. "He just confuses me. It's like with every passing day he's pushing me further and further away."

"No, he's not doing that." Peyton confirmed. "Brooke, I've been here for one day and I've only seen you and Lucas together for about 2 hours of it, but even I can tell that he is still madly in love with you."

"I know he is. It's just that he's going to have to start showing it because I don't want to be in a relationship where my boyfriend takes me for granted." Brooke concluded. "I'm sorry. I've been being a whiny baby all night. Subject change…"

Peyton laughed as she thought of something non Lucas-related to talk about. "So what do you think it's going to be like for Nathan and Haley? I mean, having a baby running around?"

"Honestly? I think it will be hard, but I think that if anyone can do it, they can. And that is going to one cute little kid." Both of them laughed but stopped abruptly when they heard a noise nearby.

"Did you hear that?" Peyton whispered. It sounded like someone was walking on the other side of the dumpster. This was logical since people whose condos were on the first floor had easier access to the other side of the dumpster than to this one.

"Was that a person?" Normally, the girls would not have given a second thought to the noise, but it was after 10:00 and it was pitch black out.

"I don't know, maybe we should check?" Peyton whispered. As soon as she said this, she decided that it was a bad idea. In every movie where someone checks to see what made a creepy noise, it was something bad.

"Shit!" Both girls' heads popped straight up when they heard a voice from the other side curse and the sound of garbage hitting the pavement echoed through the night. Whoever it was had obviously ripped their garbage bag and its contents had spilled everywhere.

"Yes, it's definitely a person." Brooke confirmed.

"Should we make a run for it?" Peyton suggested, still whispering so that no one could possibly know she was talking except Brooke.

"No, if someone is throwing their garbage away, then they obviously are staying here. I doubt Whitey would let a psycho stay here, so I vote we see who it is." Brooke was curious as to who might be on the other side because the voice sounded almost familiar, just not familiar enough for her to be able to place it.

"Ok, but I got your back in case it is a psycho." Peyton teased as Brooke walked around to the other side of the dumpster.

A guy with short spiky hair could be seen through the faint light coming from the condo complex and both Brooke and Peyton recognized him immediately. "Never mind, I guess Whitey did let a psycho stay here." Brooke mumbled.

The guy broke into a smile upon realizing who they were. "Well, well."

The only thing that Brooke could say was also the question on Peyton's mind. "What are you doing here, Chris?"


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone. Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews...they make me so happy that I write parts of the story during class instead of paying attention...haha. For all of you who are worried about Chris, let me just say that you don't have to be. ;-) Anyway, enjoy chapter 7!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of author's note on my last update. I basically forgot that I hadn't written one. My bad. lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 7**

"What are you doing here Chris?" Yes, Chris Keller was standing right in front of them.

"I come here every year. Duh." Chris said, annoyed. "Now, Chris Keller needs his beauty sleep, so, I'll catch up with you tomorrow!" He said cheerfully before walking away.

"Ok, what the hell just happened?" Brooke asked, turning back to Peyton.

"Um, I think Chris Keller is here." Peyton answered, still staring out into the darkness that Chris had vanished into.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Brooke mumbled. "We should go tell Haley and Nathan."

"No, she's had a long day. Let's wait until tomorrow morning." Peyton declared. If Haley wasn't already asleep, she was getting there. She knew that Haley always went to bed earlier when she was upset.

"Good thinking." Brooke agreed. It would only make things worse to tell them right now. Chris Keller. Brooke almost couldn't believe it herself. Why did he always show up? If it wasn't in person, then it was on her TV in an infomercial for some kind of toaster/telephone all in one thing. Was it even possible for someone to be as annoying as him?

* * *

"Are you ready?" Nathan asked his wife the next morning as he entered the bedroom again. He had just finished packing their overnight bags into the car and was now just waiting for her to finish getting ready. 

Haley looked over at the clock, 7:43 a.m., and realized that if she didn't hurry up, they would be lucky to make it there before noon. She quickly added her prenatal vitamins to her purse, grabbed Nathan's sweatshirt off of the end of the bed, and followed him out. "Wait, should we leave Tim a note? I mean, we never told him that we were leaving."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Nathan decided as he searched the kitchen counter for a pad of paper and a pen. Upon finding one of each, he promptly scribbled a few words and then set the paper on the table. "There, now let's go. We've got a good 4 hour drive ahead of us."

Haley nodded and they made their way to the parking lot and the Range Rover that was going to take them 200 miles away to Charlotte. "Nathan, I forgot to tell you, your mom called. She said that the new Escalade model came in and wanted to know if we wanted to take one."

After Dan had gone to jail, Deb had been given full ownership of Dan Scott Motors and her first official act as the owner was to make a deal with Nathan. Every time a new model for a car came in, he got first dibs as long as he kept his grades up. This really only applied to senior year, but after he graduated, it had been a habit so Deb continued to offer new cars to him every chance she got. She claimed that she did it because she needed someone to test drive the new models and tell her about them so she could tell the customers, but it was obvious that she did it because she loved him.

"An Escalade? Nice." Nathan laughed as he started the ignition. They had told Deb about the baby about a month ago, making her promise to keep her mouth shut until they gave her the ok, and ever since then, she had stopped offering Nathan little sports cars. It seemed like every time she called with a car offer, the cars got bigger. Nathan didn't mind though, he proffered big SUVs to small sports cars. "We should definitely take that one."

"I don't know, Nathan. Have you seen the gas prices lately? Maybe we should see if she has anything smaller." Nathan smiled over at her, she was always worrying about something, but that's why he loved her.

"It'll be fine. Unless you don't want the Escalade." He joked. Who wouldn't want an Escalade?

Haley laughed, knowing that even if gas was 10 dollars a gallon, Nathan would probably still take the Escalade. 4 and a half hours later, after multiple stops for bathroom breaks and snacks, they finally arrived in Charlotte and pulled into the parking lot of the prison that held both Bobby James and Dan Scott.

"Finally." Haley smiled as she hopped out of the car and stretched her arms out. "That took almost 5 hours."

"You know, if you didn't have to go to the bathroom every 20 miles, we would have made better time." Nathan teased.

"Oh, shut up. I seriously think the kid is sitting on my bladder or something." She laughed as Nathan draped his arm around her shoulder. "Wait, I forgot Bobby's birthday card." She opened the door back up and grabbed the sparkly card that she had purchased for her uncle on one of their many stops. "Ok, now we can go."

They walked into the building, both instantly feeling the contrast of the warm summer air of the outdoors and the overly air-conditioned air of the jail. "Hi Kevin." Haley smiled as they approached the plump man behind the front desk.

"Well, hello Mrs. Scott. Mr. Scott." Kevin acknowledged. Nathan and Haley were two of the very few reoccurring visitors here and pretty much all of the employees knew who they were and were fond of the young couple. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has. School's been busy." Haley said politely.

"I'm sure. I have a cousin in college down in Savannah and he's always busy." Kevin pressed a button on top of the desk and started speaking into the microphone next to it. "Bobby James has a visitor."

"Actually, we also need to see Dan Scott." Haley corrected.

Kevin looked at them suspiciously, but with a smile no less, the first and last time either of them had asked to see Dan Scott was on their last visit and he had heard through the grapevine that they had told him about their marriage on that day. Hmm… "Oh, of course."

"Can you send him in in about 10 minutes?" Nathan asked. "We both need to talk to Bobby first."

"Sure," Kevin smiled as he pressed the button again. "Dan Scott will have a visitor in 10 minutes."

"Thanks." Both Nathan and Haley said at the same time as they headed for the visitor room that they had entered many times in the past few years. Kevin watched them go as he chuckled a little bit. Haley was definitely pregnant. He could tell from the way she was glowing. His own wife had been pregnant 7 times already and if anyone could spot a pregnant woman, it was him. Yes, Haley Scott had to have a bun in the oven. He couldn't wait to spill this one at the prison guard poker game tonight…

Upon entering the visitor room, Nathan and Haley sat together at one of the terminals waiting for a guard to let Bobby in. "Was it just me, or did Kevin put on some weight? I thought he told us last time that he was going on a diet." Nathan joked.

"Oh, he did. But apparently he's not on it anymore since he was eating a donut." Haley laughed. At this moment, the door on the other side of the glass divider opened and Bobby came through.

"Haley, Nathan, I didn't know you were coming today." He smiled after he had sat down across from them and picked up the phone.

"We thought we'd surprise you." Haley laughed into the phone that was placed between her and Nathan so they could both speak and listen at the same time.

"That you did. So what brings you here anyway? Not that I'm not happy to see my 2 favorite Scotts." Bobby grinned. Having a visitor always brightened his day, and he was always especially happy when his visitor was his youngest niece. After almost 4 years, he still couldn't believe that she had found it in her heart to forgive him.

"Actually, there are not just two of us." Haley smiled coyly as Bobby looked at her with confusion. It was much easier for her to tell her uncle about the baby than Lucas because she knew that her uncle would be happy for her.

Bobby looked back and forth between Haley and Nathan, trying to decipher what she meant. "Why, did you bring Lucas along or something?" Bobby remembered how Haley and Lucas were inseparable as kids and he thought maybe she had brought him too, but decided that that wasn't the case when Haley visible stiffened at the mention of Lucas's name.

"No, Lucas is not here." Nathan answered for her.

"Ok, well then I'm lost. I only know 3 Scotts besides your dad, Nathan." Bobby stated. How could there be more than two Scotts if only Haley and Nathan were here?

"Well, Bobby, in a couple of months you'll know one more." Haley grinned, willing the thought of Lucas to leave her mind.

"Wait, you're…?" Realization had dawned on Bobby and he was now smiling with the young couple on the other side of the glass window. "I'm going to be a great-uncle?"

"Uh huh." Haley nodded. "But you already are a great-uncle." She pointed out as Nathan and Bobby started laughing. "Did you forget about Vivian's kids? And Mark's? And Quinn's? And-"

"That's not what I meant." Bobby laughed. "Wow, congratulations you two. When's it due?"

"October." They both said at the same time.

"This is so weird. My baby niece is having a baby." Bobby laughed. "Your parents know, right?"

"Yeah, we told them about a month ago." Haley smiled.

"That Jimmy. I'm going to give him an earful next time I see him." Bobby laughed. "I saw him a couple of weeks ago and he didn't say a word."

"We told him not to." Haley said. "We thought it would be best if we told you ourselves."

A few minutes later, a buzz was heard on the other side of the door and Nathan instantly knew that Dan was coming in. "Haley, you wait over here. I'll tell my dad." He said solemnly.

"Are you sure? I'll go with you." Haley offered.

"No, he's probably going to yell so it would best if you just stayed here with Bobby." He decided.

"Ok, just come get me when you're done." Haley smiled and then pecked him on the cheek before he walked down to the other end of the room to talk to Dan. Bobby watched Nathan go sympathetically. He knew how much the kid hated his father. He had to suffer by being in the cell 2 down from Dan's, so if anyone knew how annoying he could be, it was Bobby.

"Nathan, I'm surprised to see you." Dan said after Nathan had picked up the phone. "Please tell me you dumped the home wrecker?"

"Dad." Nathan warned. Now he remembered why he didn't visit Dan more often…

"I'm sorry, I guess I should have looked at your finger before saying something like that, huh?" Dan laughed.

"Listen, you need to stop." Nathan warned. "I'm getting sick of you taking every chance you get to insult her."

"I do not insult her." Dan said innocently. "Well, at least not every chance I get." He winked. "I exercised a fair amount of control on your last visit didn't I?"

"You called her a slut." Nathan said incredulously. How did calling someone a slut classify as control?

"Yes, but there were many things worse than slut that I wanted to call her." Dan pointed out. "Therefore, I exercised control."

"Whatever." Nathan scoffed. He just wanted to get this over with because being in the presence of his father was already driving him crazy. "The reason I even asked to see you is because there's something that you should know."

"Oh my God, Nathan, you got drafted to the NBA didn't you?" Dan said excitedly. "After all the hard work we did, your dreams are finally coming true! I'm so proud of you Nathan. You did this on your own, without the help of your little wife."

"Slow down." Nathan commanded. "I did not get drafted to the NBA." His father's face visibly fell as Nathan rolled his eyes. All that would ever be important to Dan Scott was basketball and money.

"That's ok, son. Give it time." Dan encouraged. "You'll get there someday, with or without Haley."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked, exasperated already by his father's incessant criticism of his wife.

"Nathan, I'm just trying to help you realize that good things can happen without her." Dan said smoothly. "One day you'll realize that you don't really need her for anything."

Nathan felt his anger rising and decided that he should get this over with as fast as possible. "Actually, I do need her. And you're wrong, nothing good can happen without her. Especially not what I have to tell you." Nathan said seriously. Just as Dan was trying to tell him that Haley was unnecessary, Nathan was trying to tell Dan that she was the most important thing in his life. It was as if his father didn't understand that he really did love her. "Haley's pregnant."

Dan instantly started laughing sinisterly and leaned back in his chair. "Wow, nice work, son. You're almost as fast as me." Dan applauded. "But not quite. I guess we can add this to the list of things that I'm better at than you."

"Sure, Ok. I just thought you should know, so-"

As Nathan got up to leave, Dan quickly became serious again. "Nathan, wait. I'm sorry. This is great news. I am very happy for Haley." Nathan gave him a look as if to ask what was up his sleeve. Dan Scott was never happy for another person unless it benefited him in some way. "It's just, her father works for the power company and there is no doubt that she was brought up in an unsatisfactory family environment…"

"Ok…" Nathan had no idea what Dan was getting at. What did her father working for the power company have to do with anything?

"I'm just saying…are you sure it's yours? I would think of her as the type of girl who gets around and I don't want to see you wasting your life raising a kid that quite possibly is not yours."

That was it. Nathan had had it with his Dad. He automatically slammed the phone down and stood up. If Dan hadn't been separated from him by a sheet of glass, he would have easily made him pay for his vulgar remarks.

"I'm sure I'm not the first one to tell you this." Dan yelled so Nathan could hear through the glass and subsequently, so could Haley and Bobby. "Face it, you married a whore."

Haley heard what he said, but it didn't really upset her. Dan had said worse things. What did concern her though was when she heard a loud pounding on the glass and knew instantly that Nathan had banged his hand up against it.

"You son of a bitch, you're damn lucky that you're in jail right now!" Nathan yelled angrily as he banged his hand on the glass again. What he wouldn't give to be able to pound the bastard's face in right now.

"Nathan, stop!" Haley commanded as she grabbed his arm. "Let it go." Nathan hadn't even noticed her come up beside him until he felt her small hands on his arm. He instantly stopped and took hold of her hand. He wanted so badly to jump through the window and beat the crap out of his father, but after feeling her delicate hands on his arm for a second, he remembered that Dan wasn't important. "It's ok, it doesn't matter what he says." She soothed as she ran her hand up and down his arm.

She glanced over at her uncle who seemed to be fuming in his seat. She knew that he would have done exactly what Nathan wanted to do had there not been a rule about getting out of your seat when you have a visitor. Apparently, if an inmate left the chair they were sitting in while in the visitor room, unless they were going back to their cells of course, they would be punished severely.

"How sweet." Dan yelled through the glass sarcastically. "Nathan, you even obey the little tramp."

"Shut up." Nathan yelled back as he pulled Haley back to where Bobby was sitting so she could get her purse and say goodbye to her uncle.

"What? I'm just stating the obvious." Dan laughed.

"Just shut the hell up, Dan." Bobby warned. Dan Scott really got on his nerves, especially when he called his niece a tramp. It was at times like this that he really felt bad for Nathan; he couldn't imagine having a father like Dan.

"Goodbye, Bobby." Haley said politely as she gathered her purse and the pictures that she had been in the middle of showing her uncle. "It was nice to see you."

"That's for coming, both of you." Bobby managed to say before throwing a dirty look at Dan. "And good luck with the kid."

"Thanks." They both responded and then headed for the door, trying to block out Dan's evil laughter.

"It was good to see you, son. We should do this again sometime." Dan yelled.

"Oh, I forgot to give Bobby his birthday card." Haley sad suddenly as they passed in front of the front desk. Nathan just watched her in amazement as she walked up to Kevin and gave him the sparkly birthday card for her uncle. How could she be so unfazed by what his own father had just said about her? "Thanks Kevin." She called over her shoulder as she walked up next to Nathan and latched her arm around his.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He said as he opened the front door for her and then walked outside behind her.

"Why do you say that?" She smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Because, my dad just said horrible things about you, and it seems like I got madder than you did." He laughed.

"Nathan, I know how your dad can be, and to tell you the truth, I don't care what he thinks. Now, if you had said that stuff, that would be a different story." She teased as they reached their car.

"I'm sorry for that." He apologized. He hated that when she got married to him she had to take on the burden of his screwed up family.

"You don't have to apologize." She said sweetly. "You can't control what comes out of your father's mouth." He smiled a little over at her. How was it possible that he got lucky enough to find her? Most girls would be so freaked out by Dan's behavior that they would be halfway to China by now. "Now, I'm starving, so let's get something to eat and then head back to the hotel."

"I like the sound of that." He said playfully as he pulled the car out of the parking lot.

* * *

"I still can't believe that the waiter was hitting on you!" Haley laughed as Nathan slipped the key card into the lock on the door to their hotel room. 

"Yeah, I know. He was in his 40s for God's sake. Did he really think he had a shot with me?" Nathan joked as he opened the door and walked inside. "Well, here we are, home sweet home."

"I'm so glad we came up here." Haley sighed as she sat down on the soft bed. "I needed this."

"Me too." Nathan declared as he took a seat next to her. The day had definitely had not been perfect or stress free, but it was better than staying back at the condos and waiting for the second eruption of Mt. Lucas.

"Oh my God." Haley said softly as her hand flew to her stomach.

"What? Are you ok?" Nathan panicked. He was relieved however when her face broke out into a radiant smile and she started to laugh.

"I just felt the baby move." She said giddily. "Nathan, I felt it move!"

"You did?" Nathan asked excitedly. "What did it feel like?"

"I don't know…like a butterfly in my stomach or something." She smiled before launching herself onto him in an excited kiss. "Our baby moved!"

Nathan smiled as he kissed her back eagerly and gently laid her back against the bed so he was on top of her. "Do you think I would be able to feel?" He asked when they broke apart for air.

"I don't know." She smiled coyly. You'd have to get very close."

"Very close? That, I can do." She giggled when he lifted the bottom of her shirt up, exposing her still flat stomach. He then lowered his lips to the creamy flesh on her abdomen and began to leave tender butterfly kissed all over it until she begged him to bring his mouth back up to her lips.

He willingly obliged, capturing her lips with his once again, gently nibbling on them both equally until her tongue begged for entrance to his mouth. Her hands found the bottom of his shirt and easily slid up the front of his chest, caressing every strong muscle that she had memorized since they had gotten married.

While one of his hands was positioned on the side of her head to support his weight and keep him from crushing her, the other played with the buttons on the front of her shirt. She moaned a little into his mouth when he finished unbuttoning her shirt and let his had travel to her slightly swollen breasts.

"Nathan, go put the do not disturb sign on the door." She commanded breathlessly.

"We don't need it." He responded huskily as he moved his mouth to her neck.

"Yes we do. Remember on our honeymoon?" She managed to say. On their honeymoon to London, they had forgotten to put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door and the maids had just walked in. Unfortunately, they had gotten an eyeful.

"Haley, maids don't come at night." Nathan pleaded, not wanting to stop what he was in the middle of.

"I don't care…oh God. Nathan, please put the sign on the door." She asked, using her hands to bring his face from her neck to look straight into her eyes.

"Fine," He agreed with a laugh before giving her one last kiss and then quickly moving to hang the sign on the door. They definitely didn't want anyone disturbing them…


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I love hearing what you all think. I really don't think this is the best chapter ever, the next one is much better, but I hope you like it, and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 8**

"Lucas, there you are! Thank God!" Brooke said as she pulled him into a hug just after he had walked through the door. She hadn't heard a single word from him since he stormed out 2 nights ago. "Why didn't you call me? I was getting so worried."

"I'm sorry, Brooke. I just needed to figure some things out." He had gone to the motel up the street and spent the whole day there yesterday.

"Well, did you?" She asked, hopeful that he had realized that she had been so upset the other day because she thought he didn't want to commit to her.

"Yeah, I really need to talk to Haley." Lucas sighed. "I was kind of an ass to her."

"Luke, I hate to break it to you, but you were more than an ass." Brooke smiled playfully. "And they're not here."

"What do you mean, they're not here?" questioned cautiously. Where would they be?

"Here's the thing. Peyton and I went over to their condo yesterday morning because we really wanted to tell them that Chris Keller is here-"

"What? Chris Keller is here?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"Yes, now stop interrupting." Brooke scolded. "As I was saying, Peyton and I went over there and Tim was still asleep but the door was unlocked so we went in. Then we found a note on the table saying that they had gone up to Charlotte to see Bobby."

"Ok, now I really feel like an ass. They left because of me?" Lucas felt beyond guilty at this point. He had been so mean to his best friend that he caused her to practically run 200 miles away just to get away from him.

"Don't flatter yourself Broody. I'm sure they went because they had to tell Bobby about the baby." Brooke confirmed. "But now that you mention it, you probably were a big motivating factor in that decision…"

"Ok, not helping." Lucas grumbled. He already felt like the worst friend in the history of the universe, and Brooke was only making it worse. "Did this note say when they are going to be back?"

"Sometime today, but we don't know when."

* * *

Haley rubbed her eyes automatically as she woke from her sleep and tried to get a clear picture of her surroundings. Then she remembered where they were, 200 miles away from their home and facing a 4 hour car ride to get back. Her husband's arm was draped lazily around her waist and she silently tried to turn over to face him without waking him up in the process. When she finally succeeded, she realized that he was already awake. "Hey." She whispered groggily. 

"Good morning." He smiled as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"What were you doing?" She laughed.

"What do you mean?" He replied coyly, taking in her infectious sleepy laughter.

"You never wake up before me." She pointed out.

"Well, today I did." He smiled.

"You didn't have to stay here with me; you could have gotten your shower already." She giggled, leaning her head on his arm that was resting on her pillow.

"I know, but I didn't want to wake you up." He said as he brought the arm that had been wrapped around her waist up to smooth the hair out of her face. "And besides, you're kind of cute when you sleep."

Haley laughed and turned her head slightly to kiss the palm of his hand. "I am?"

"Yeah, even when you sleep talk." Nathan teased as he watched her eyes get wide.

"I do not sleep talk!"

"Oh, yes you do." Nathan laughed. "You said something about a rocking chair and cookie dough." He laughed as she tried to recall what she could possibly have been dreaming about.

"I was dreaming about the nursery." She smiled once she remembered what she had been dreaming about for half of the night. "I dreamt that we painted half of it blue and half of it pink because we didn't know which one to pick." She laughed. "It looked terrible." She absentmindedly started drawing circles on his bicep as she continued to recount her strange dream to him. "And then we bought a rocking chair for the room and when I sat in it, it broke." She frowned.

"It broke." Nathan repeated with a laugh.

"Yeah, I was too fat to fit in it because a scary clown made me eat a whole tub of cookie dough." She pouted. "Nathan Scott! Don't laugh! What if that really happened someday?" She asked, obviously talking about the fat part, not the clown part.

Nathan couldn't help the soft laughter that continued to escape from his mouth. Haley being so big that she broke a rocking chair was too weird for him to imagine. She was so tiny that at 9 months pregnant he would probably still be able to carry her. "I'm sorry. It's just that I can't imagine you being so big that you break a rocking chair."

"Well, it's going to happen thanks to you." She muttered. She didn't want to be so fat that she broke a chair!

"Whoa, calm down." He chuckled. "You'll never be so big that you can't fit in a chair." He soothed.

"Yes I will. That dream was probably a premonition or something." She continued to pout. "And when I weigh, like, 200 pounds you're going to think I'm ugly."

"Haley, I could never think you're ugly." Nathan reassured her, slightly amused by her change in attitude. "And I don't think you will ever weigh 200 pounds."

"What if I did?" She asked shyly.

"I would still love you." He comforted her with a smile. "Even if you got bigger than the bed and I had to sleep on the couch…ok, bad example. I would probably be a little mad about that."

She started laughing then and pulled his face to hers in a soft kiss. "Thank you." She smiled.

"Anytime." He responded mischievously as he shifted so he was on top of her. "Now, do I get a reward for being so nice?"

"I don't know, what kind of reward do you want?" Haley smiled playfully.

"I could go for this kind." He responded before lowering his lips to her neck and leaving hot wet kisses in the spot that always drove her crazy.

"Nathan, stop." Haley laughed.

"Why?" He smiled against her skin as he started to slowly move his kisses up to her mouth.

"No matter how much I would love a repeat of last night…" Nathan smirked at her and she started to giggle when his hand slowly moved down the length of her torso. "…It doesn't change the fact that we…Nathan! I'm serious!...we need to get on the road soon."

"We can be a little late." He said huskily in her ear before kissing her deeply on the lips, groaning when her tongue entered his mouth.

Haley contemplated this idea before bringing one of her hands up to run through his short raven dark hair, and letting the other one dig into his back. "Is that… 'do not disturb'…sign…still on the door?" She managed in between kisses. He nodded his head before kissing her nose, her eyelids, her ears, and eventually her mouth. "Then I guess we can be a little late."

* * *

"When we get back, I want to talk to Lucas first." Nathan said as they drove home from Charlotte later that afternoon. 

"I don't know, Nathan. You're not going to hurt him, are you?" Haley asked, only half serious. She knew that Nathan had been just as upset, if not more, by Lucas's comments.

"No." Nathan laughed. "Well, maybe." He clarified. "Haley, you can't expect me to not say something to him after everything he said to you."

"I know, I think it would be good for you guys to have a brotherly chat. But please go easy on him, he didn't mean it." Haley pleaded. She knew how Lucas was. Right now he probably felt guiltier than she could imagine. He always spoke before he thought.

"That's not what you were saying 2 days ago." Nathan smiled, remembering how broken up she had been about her best friend's comments.

"I wasn't thinking clearly 2 days ago." She reminded him. "And now I am."

"Ok, I'll go easy on him. But I still want to talk to him before you, ok?" Nathan really wanted to straighten some things out with Lucas, like how if he ever talked to Haley like that again, best friend or not, he would beat his ass.

"Fine." Haley agreed as she turned on the radio. "Maybe I'll go hang out by the pool with Brooke or something." She scanned the stations until a remake of one of the songs that her parents used to listen to called "Missing You" came on. "Oh, I used to love this song!"

Nathan smiled as she started to sing along with the song but couldn't help but notice that something about the voice on the radio was a little familiar. When the song finally ended, the announcer came on the radio and both Nathan and Haley literally groaned when they heard who it was who sang the song.

"That's our newest cover of the old 80's song 'Missing You' done by the little known Chris Keller…"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Haley laughed. "How weird is that? I never hear a word about him, but I do once we come back here for the summer."

"As long as all I have to do is listen to his name on the radio and I never see the idiot, I'll be fine." Nathan said light-heartedly, although he was being serious. If he never talked to the guy who got Haley wasted and hit him in the head with a baseball bat again, it would be too soon.

"Oh, you know you liked him Nathan. Deep down, you did." Haley teased and watch him make a 'yeah right' face.

"Sure I liked him, even when he cheated at putt-putt and tried to take the last seat on the raft when the yacht was on fire." Nathan said sarcastically, causing Haley to double over in her seat out of laughter. All of her memories of Chris were so hysterical because he was such a weirdo. "Haley, are you ok?" Nathan asked, just short of panic causing Haley to laugh harder.

"Yeah, I'm just laughing babe." She managed to say through fits of giggles. He was so cute when he was protective.

"Well, God, don't scare me like that." He smiled as he relaxed in his seat. She had a way of making him frantic about the dumbest things sometimes…

"I'm sorry." Haley giggled as she moved over in her seat so she could lay her head on his shoulder and wrap her arms around his arm, which was currently sitting on the arm rest as the other steered the car. "I didn't mean to scare you." She smiled as she turned her head to kiss the shoulder that her it had just been laying on.

"See, how can I be mad at you when you are so sweet?" Nathan chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road. No matter what she did, it was almost impossible for him to stay mad at her. Sometimes that was a disadvantage to him.

A few hours later, they had arrived back at the condos and taken their small bags back up to condo 10. Both were not surprised to find Tim missing. He had probably stayed out all night again last night as he did almost every night. The guy was practically nocturnal. Haley decided that she would head down to the pool while she waited for Nathan to finish his talk with Lucas and then started rummaging through all of the bathing suits that she had brought. "Nathan, you're going to have to take me shopping soon."

"Why is that?" He laughed from over by the bed where he was pulling clothes out of his overnight bag and stuffing them into his drawers of the dresser.

"Because, I only have one tankini." She frowned as she looked through the bathing suits again.

"I don't get it." Nathan smiled as he turned to look at her. She was frantically throwing every piece of every bathing suit she owned into a large pile on the floor. What was so bad about only having one tankini? And what the hell was a tankini?

"I only have one tankini." She repeated. "And the rest of my bathing suits are bikinis."

"I still don't get it." Nathan laughed.

"Nathan! I can't wear a bikini when I start showing!" She complained. "Ugh, why did I let Brooke convince me to throw out all of my other bathing suits?"

"Hales, it's ok. We'll get you some more bathing suits." He chuckled as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head against her shoulder. "But for what it's worth, I think you'd look pretty sexy in a bikini, even when you start showing."

"Stop." She blushed, playfully swatting at his arms with the bikini top that was still in her hand. "Just because you think it would look good doesn't mean the rest of the world would. Now that I think about it, I may want to ask Brooke to go shopping with me." She teased.

"I'm insulted." Nathan laughed. "Are you saying that I have bad taste in your clothes, Haley James Scott?"

"Um…no, I just think that you have much different tastes than the rest of the people in public." She joked.

"You know what they say, Hales, less is more." He laughed again. She turned around to scowl at him, but her scowl quickly turned into laughter as well. She could never keep a straight face when he laughed.

* * *

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Lucas asked nervously. "Maybe I should try calling her again?" 

"Lucas, relax. They're probably just taking their sweet time. If there's one thing I know about Nathan, it's that he the only thing he hates more than waking up early is waking up early to drive 200 miles." Peyton assured him as she fiddled with the skull and crossbones necklace she was currently wearing. When she had been with Jake, her gothic tendencies seemed to disappear, but once they broke up, she became more and more emo with each passing day.

"Yeah, Broody. Stop pacing. It's getting a little nauseating." Brooke teased as she flipped trough her People magazine.

Just then, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Lucas hurriedly went to answer it and flung the door open excitedly. "Nathan! Hey, I'm so glad you guys are back. Where's Haley?"

"She's down by the pool." Nathan said as he stepped into the condo. "Brooke, Peyton, she wanted me to tell you guys to meet her down there."

"Perfect timing!" Brooke squealed. "We already have our suits on and now we get to talk about that offspring of yours."

Nathan chuckled. He hadn't heard anyone call the baby their 'offspring' yet, and of course Brooke Davis would be the first. "Yeah, she mentioned something about shopping-"

"Bye!" Brooke yelled excitedly as she exited, not caring that Nathan hadn't even finished his sentence. The word shopping was enough for her.

"Let me just change really quick and then I'll walk down with you." Lucas offered before Nathan cut him off.

"Actually, I need to talk to you first."

"And that's my queue. I'll see you guys later." Peyton said as she grabbed her beach bag and headed out the door.

"Look, Nathan, I'm really sorry about what I said." Lucas apologized.

"I know you're sorry, but that doesn't change the fact that you said it." Nathan said sullenly as he folded his arms and leant up against the wall. "I get that you were surprised, but I don't really understand what would make you say all that stuff."

"I was just taken off guard." Lucas admitted. "But that's no excuse. I shouldn't have said it."

"The thing is, Luke, if it came out on impulse, then you have to have believed it." Nathan said back firmly. He wanted to find out what Lucas's problem with him was so that they could find a way to get past it.

"I think I did, at the time. On some level at least. I mean, you guys are so young, and I couldn't help but feel like my best friend's life was over before it began." Lucas defended himself. "It just that ever since you guys got married, I feel like she's being trapped."

"By what?" Nathan was starting to get angry now. Did Lucas think that Nathan had pressured her into marrying him or something?

"By you!" Lucas shouted. "Let's face it, Nathan, we're not exactly best friends or anything and just because you're my half-brother does not mean I have to trust you with her."

"I don't understand why you wouldn't trust me with her!" Nathan yelled in disbelief. He'd been with her for 4 years and Lucas still didn't trust him with her?

"I know how you are." Lucas spat out.

"The way I used to be." Nathan corrected. "If you seriously think that I would do something to hurt my _wife_, who also happens to be _pregnant_, then there's something wrong with you."

"Nathan, it's not like that. It's just that at the time, all I could think about was that Haley's life is going to be changed forever and I don't know if I can believe that you're in it for the long run." Lucas said calmly. After everything Nathan had done in the past, it was hard for Lucas to imagine him being in a committed relationship, even if he had been in one for 4 years.

"Why would I marry her if I wasn't in it for the long run?" Nathan said, slightly annoyed.

"Maybe because she wanted to wait until she got married until she had sex?" Lucas suggested bitterly.

"Do you hear yourself right now?" Nathan asked incredulously. "I dated her for 3 years before we got married and if I had to, I would wait 100 more! Why is that so hard for you to understand?"

"Because, I can't even imagine a relationship like that for myself!" Lucas yelled causing Nathan to look at him curiously. "Look, man, I didn't grow up around anyone who had a good marriage or really anyone who loved each other like you and Haley do. I mean, I had my mom and Keith, but they were never really together until a few years ago. I guess I just don't understand how you, or anyone for that matter, can be able to commit your life to someone unconditionally."

"It's easy, if you find the right person." Nathan answered quietly.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes before Lucas finally spoke up. "I don't think you or Haley will ever know how guilty I feel about all those things I said. I just wish that I could find some way to help the both of you forgive me."

"I understand that what you said just came out in the heat of the moment." Nathan said. "And for what it's worth, I forgive you. But you have to get it under control when you're around Haley. She doesn't need you yelling at her and making her cry again."

"I know…I feel like the worst friend on the planet. How much groveling do you think this one's going to require?" Lucas smiled.

"A lot." Nathan said simply. "She cried for a straight half an hour when we got back from the restaurant."

"Crap. I'm such an idiot." Lucas flinched when he felt his cell phone start to vibrate in his pocket. "Hold on." After looking at the caller ID and seeing that it was Brooke, he decided that he should take the call. "Hey beautiful."

Nathan watched as Lucas rolled his eyes playfully at the way Brooke was obviously rambling but became concerned when Lucas sort-of stiffened up and became serious.

"Ok, I'm glad you called. We'll be down in a minute." Lucas said before closing his phone and looking up to see Nathan's face which was asking for an explanation.

"What did she say?" He finally asked when Lucas didn't offer an answer immediately.

"Um, I have to grab something that I bought for Haley, but you should probably go down there." Lucas said as he started to walk into his bedroom.

"Wait, why?" Nathan was a little confused. "Is something wrong?"

"No, Brooke just said that Chris won't leave them alone." Lucas said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Who did Lucas just say wouldn't leave them alone? "Wait, Chris Keller?" When Lucas nodded his head, Nathan couldn't help but get extremely annoyed that, first of all, no one told him that Chris was here, and second of all, that he was down at the pool by his wife. "Ok, I'll go down there." Without thinking about it anymore, he quickly left Lucas's condo and made his way down to the pool area, ready to show Chris just how much he irritated him.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love all of you! Like I said before, I like this chapter more than most of the other ones, maybe because it's a little longer, I don't know, but I hope you do to! Feel free to tell me what you think. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 9**

"Hey Haley, welcome back!" Brooke said excitedly as she entered through the gate to the pool area and plopped down on the lounge chair next to the one that Haley was laying on.

"Hi Brooke." Haley laughed as she shielded the sun from her eyes with her hand. "I'm guessing Nathan told you to come down here?"

"Yeah, I think that he wanted to have some serious talk with Lucas or whatever." Brooke said simply as Peyton joined the group. "I personally hope that your husband talks some sense into my jackass of a boyfriend…So, how was Charlotte?"

"It was great. Bobby was happy to hear the news. Dan was…well…Dan…" Haley started.

"He called you a whore, didn't he?" Peyton guessed and Haley looked at her curiously, trying to figure out how she could know that. "Nathan called me while you guys were driving back here. He said you were asleep."

"Oh," Haley laughed. "Yeah, among other things."

"Don't worry about Dan." Brooke commanded. "He's just jealous that Nathan likes you more that he likes him."

"Ok." Haley laughed. "Whatever you say, Brooke. Oh, but before I forget, I was wondering if you guys want to go with me this week to get Nathan something for our anniversary."

"I totally forgot that your anniversary is in a week." Peyton mused. "What are you going to get him?"

"Uh, Peyton, I think she already got him something." Brooke smiled as she patted Haley's stomach lightly. "Which reminds me, Nathan said something about you needing to go shopping?"

Haley laughed. Of course Brooke would find a way to bring shopping up. "Yeah, I'm going to need some bigger clothes."

"Perfect!" Brooke clapped excitedly. "We can go next Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" Peyton questioned. Tuesday was sort of a random day.

"Yes, Tuesday. I have a preset date with Lucas on Monday which will obviously take all day to get ready for and we don't want to go over the weekend because the malls are always _so_ crowded. That leaves Tuesday." Brooke concluded. "Tutor girl, you can even get an anniversary present while we're there. Not to mention lots of new clothes!"

"Brooke, I don't need that many new clothes." Haley smiled. "I haven't even started showing yet."

"But you will." Brooke persuaded. "My guess is that sometime before your anniversary, you will notice your pants are getting a little tight around the waist."

"They already are a little tight around the waist." Haley laughed. When did Brooke become an expert on the growth of a pregnant woman's waist size?

"Oh, you're farther along then I thought. What day was the little guy conceived?"

"Brooke!" Peyton on Haley scolded playfully. "I think that's kind of personal, don't you?" Peyton said.

"Well, no…I mean we already know that they have sex, they're married and if that wasn't enough proof then I think the fact that she's pregnant is." Brooke looked pointedly over at Peyton. "P. Sawyer, don't you know where babies come from?" Haley just laughed and shook her head while Peyton gave Brooke a look to tell her to just change the subject. "I mean, Haley, you guys probably have sex like, what, 4, 5 times a week?"

"Seriously Brooke, new subject please." Haley smiled and blushed. She had never been the type of person that willingly talked about her sex life with her friends. "Were there any new developments here while we were gone?"

"Actually, I think we forgot to tell you-" Brooke started.

"More like you didn't give us the chance to tell you before you took off-" Peyton interrupted.

"That Chris Keller is here." Brooke finished.

"Talking about me?" A familiar voice called from the other end of the pool as none other than Chris Keller walked through the gate. "I know, I'm too much of a hot topic to be ignored."

"In your dreams, Chris." Peyton laughed sarcastically.

"Haley, I haven't seen you in a while. How's Ned? I mean Nate? It's hard to keep every day people's names straight when you know so many celebrities." Chris boasted as all three of the girls rolled their eyes. Chris Keller was hands down the most egotistical guy any of them had ever met.

"Why are you here, Chris?" Haley asked bluntly. Having Chris here was only going to annoy her and set Nathan's temper off 10 times faster than normal.

"I'm on vacation!" Chris yelled enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm staying in condo number 3, so if any of you lovely ladies get lonely, feel free to drop by."

"You're a pig." Haley said bitterly, remembering all of the things he had done the last time she had spent the summer in the same condo complex as him.

"Ow, that almost hurt. But it didn't." Chris said merrily. "Luckily, I've grown a pretty tough skin from the Hollywood business. You have to learn that people are going to be mean when you make it big."

"Chris, you aren't even famous." Peyton pointed out indignantly.

"Not yet, Blondie. But I'm well on my way to stardom!" Chris responded happily as he extended his hand for a 'high five' only to be left hanging by the three laughing girls.

"Yeah, ok, Chris. Now can you leave please?" Brooke laughed.

"No! I just got here, and we all have so much to catch up on. Haley, remember that time that we played miniature golf together? Yeah, good times." Chris started randomly staring off into space before sitting down in the chair next to Haley's lounge chair and turning it so he was not facing the sun, but instead was facing all three girls.

"I'm calling Lucas." Brooke mumbled. There was no way she was going to let this loser ruin her afternoon by hanging out with them. As Chris started telling Haley and Peyton about one of his escapades in a recording studio in L.A., Brooke took out her phone and promptly dialed Lucas's number.

After about 2 rings, he answered. "Broody, hey. So I'm sorry to call right now since you're obviously in the middle of a conversation with Nathan, but I really need a favor. I know that you probably don't feel like it right now, but I was wondering if you could come down here and kick Chris Keller's ass for us. He just won't leave."

At this time, Chris looked up at her. "What, are you calling your body guard on me or something? I live here, remember?"

"Thanks, bye." Brooke hung up the phone and then turned to face her friends and Chris. "No Chris, I did not call my body guard. I called Haley's."

"You have a body guard?" Chris said skeptically as he looked back over at Haley.

"I think she was speaking metaphorically." Haley gave him a fake smile, hoping that Nathan and Lucas would come down soon to save them all from Chris's boring stories.

"I don't know what that means." Chris said slowly after looking up at the sky for about a minute trying to figure out what Haley's words meant. "I forgot to mention, I saw all of you at a restaurant on Wednesday night." All three of the girls turned to look at each other, that was the day that Nathan and Haley had told them all about the baby. "Let me just say, congratulations Haley."

Haley smiled doubtfully at the nice comment coming from this rude boy. "Thanks…I guess."

Suddenly, Chris reached over, placing his hand on Haley's bare stomach. "So, who's the father? Nathan?"

All three girls' eyes grew large in disbelief, not at the stupid question he had asked, but that he actually put his hand on Haley's stomach. Before Haley could say anything or push him away, she noticed who had come up behind him and had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. This was going to be interesting.

"Hey Chris, don't touch my baby." Nathan said sternly as he pulled Chris's hand away from Haley's belly, receiving a thankful look from his wife.

"Nate, long time no see." Chris said pleasantly. When Nathan only scowled at him, he decided to keep talking. "One could argue that I wasn't actually touching your baby and that I was touching Haley."

"How do you know I wasn't talking about Haley?" Nathan said seriously. He didn't like Chris Keller, and he definitely didn't like Chris Keller when he put his hands all over his wife. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Ugh, must I answer this question every time I see one of you guys?" Chris groaned. "I'm here for my leave of absence from the music business."

"Leave of absence?" Peyton scoffed. "Chris, you have to have a real career to take a leave of absence."

"My career is real!" Chris defended himself. "Anyway, I was just telling Haley here that I saw you guys at the restaurant and am really happy for you both." He smiled as he reached over to pat Haley's stomach again, only to be stopped by Nathan stepping in front of him. "What's the big idea? I can't show affection to the kid?"

"No." They all said at the same time.

"What's going on out here?" An elderly voice with a strong southern accent called from behind then and they all turned to see Whitey enter through the pool gate.

"Hi Mr. Durham. Have I had a chance to tell you that I love the new countertops? Because I do." Chris said.

"That's very sweet of you, Chris. But that doesn't tell me what the hell is going on out here." Whitey said with a sarcastic smile plastered on his face. He had been in his office filling out a few legal forms when he heard three girls getting snippy with a voice that he recognized as Chris Keller's from his open window. Then he had looked out and seen Nathan go through the big gate looking anything but pleased and had figured that it would soon be time to intervene.

"Haley's pregnant." Chris said quickly as he pointed his bony finger at Haley who glared at him in frustration.

"Chris, do you know hoe much I loathe you?" Haley mumbled as Whitey just chuckled a little from where he was standing. He had suspected that Haley was pregnant after seeing her affectionately rub her stomach the other day as she laid out on a lounge chair. He had also assumed that neither she nor Nathan had told any of their friends yet because she stopped suddenly as soon as Brooke walked through the gate.

"Congratulations." Whitey said sincerely. "Camilla and I never ended up having any children, she had always wanted one but I kept telling her that it could wait, until one day it was too late." Whitey got a far awy look in his eye as he recalled the past.

"Touching." Chris said sarcastically. "Now beat it gramps."

Nathan, Haley, Peyton, and Brooke all turned to look at Chris with disgust as Whitey just smiled. "You know, Chris, one day you're gonna realize that you have to be nice to people. And when that day comes, I'll bet that you're gonna find yourself in an interesting situation."

"Yeah, ok." Chris said sarcastically. What was the old man babbling about now? Something about being nice to other people? Last time he checked, the nice people were the ones that got eaten alive in Hollywood. When was the last time Mother Theresa got a record deal? Oh yeah, never.

"Chris, how about you save us all the agony, and just leave?" Nathan suggested. The only thing that Chris ever did was aggravate the hell out of him.

Chris looked down at his wrist as if to check the time, ignoring the fact that he wasn't wearing a watch. "I need to be getting out of here anyway. I have an important conference call with my agent."

Brooke rolled her eyes as Chris turned and headed back into the building. "He is seriously the weirdest person I have ever met." She mumbled. "Where's Lucas, by the way?"

"He said he had to get something before he came down." Nathan responded casually. "So what's new with you Whitey?"

"Nathan Scott, don't you dare try to change the subject." Whitey said lightly. "Tell me how the hell you got this sweet girl to carry your demon child."

"I know you don't really want me to answer that." Nathan smirked as Haley elbowed him gently in the stomach. By this time, Brooke and Peyton had started their own conversation while Nathan and Haley talked to Whitey. "You know what, Hales? It's really not fair that you can elbow me in the stomach but I can't do the same to you." He joked.

Whitey watched as Haley playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "So, Haley, when's the little bundle of joy going to grace us with his presence?"

"Seriously, what is up with both of you thinking it's a boy?" Haley laughed.

"He's a Scott." Whitey explained briefly as he pointed to Nathan. "And I had the pleasure of hearing all about the Scott sperm from Lucas."

Haley only laughed at Whitey's explanation while Nathan sulked. He hated it when anyone compared him to Dan, even though he knew that Whitey wasn't really doing that. "Hopefully the baby will be here in mid October and not a day sooner." She smiled.

"I'm really happy for you two." Whitey smiled. "But I really need to get back to my paperwork. I've got two people around your age moving into condo number 6 for the rest of the summer tomorrow and I need to get everything in order."

"Ok, it was nice talking to you Whitey. Good luck with your paperwork." Haley said sweetly.

"Alright, I'll talk to you two later." Whitey said cheerfully before retiring to his office for more grueling paperwork. The two people who were moving in tomorrow, what were their names again? Nancy and Ned? _No, you've got to stop reading those damn Nancy Drew books…_He told himself. Nelly and Norman? No, he was just going to have to check once he got inside…

"Haley, hey!" Lucas said excitedly as he came through the gate to the pool area and held something mysteriously behind his back. Nathan knew what was coming and decided that he would just sit back and watch…

"Lucas, hi." Haley smiled when she saw her friend come walk up to them. "What's behind your back?" She asked curiously.

"Ok, so I was kind of an ass to you the other day." Lucas said apologetically.

"Lucas, keep the swearing to a minimum, please." Nathan teased. "Little ears," He reminded him as he pointed to Haley's stomach from his seat.

"My bad." Lucas smiled. "Anyway, I said some things…I'm just really sorry Haley. I should never have said that stuff, especially since I didn't mean it. I'm happy for you Hales, you and Nathan. Here, I got you this…" Lucas pulled a small brown teddy bear out from behind his back and gave it to Haley. "I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, so I just got the standard color."

Haley grinned with tears in her eyes. She was so happy that Lucas had said such kind things to make up for the mean ones. And how sweet was he? He got the baby a teddy bear! "Thank you Lucas." She pulled him into a tight hug as Brooke, Peyton, and Nathan watched.

"Now I feel bad because I didn't get the kid anything." Peyton joked.

"Yeah, Broody, stop making us all look bad. Now I feel like a bad friend." Brooke pouted.

"You feel bad?" Nathan laughed. "I didn't even get the baby anything, and it's my baby."

"It's ok, the baby doesn't need four teddy bears. This one will do just fine." Haley smiled as she gave Lucas another hug.

"Now, Haley, the other night at dinner I was too busy being a jerk to you to actually ask you questions." Lucas grinned mischievously. "So now it's 20 questions time."

"Yay!" Brooke squealed. "I have so many questions for you Haley!"

Haley smiled as she sat down next to Nathan and the other three all gathered around. She didn't mind being grilled with questions as long as they were about her baby. She loved to talk about her baby almost as much as Nathan did. A few months ago she caught him talking some of the guys on the basketball team about how his kid would grow up at beat all of their basketball records.

"First of all? When's the due date?" Lucas started.

"October 10th." Haley responded quickly, knowing that that question would be the first on Lucas's mind.

"Boy or girl?" Peyton continued.

"We don't know." Haley smiled.

"But we have a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks and we can hopefully find out then." Nathan added proudly.

"Is it true that your boobs get both bigger and more sensitive?" Brooke asked, genuinely curious. She had always wanted to know that.

"Brooke." Haley said in a scolding tone, swatting at Nathan when she saw him subtly nod his head to Brooke.

"Have you had any weird cravings yet?" Peyton questioned. "One time, I was watching A Baby Story on TLC and this lady had cravings for potatoes and applesauce with mustard on top."

"Peyton, that's disgusting." Nathan said as he tried to keep the mental image of Haley eating a concoction like that out of his mind.

"I've had small cravings here and there." Haley replied simply. "Like, while we were in Charlotte, I had a craving for McDonald's french fries. But nothing nasty yet." She laughed. Thinking of herself craving something as weird as potatoes, applesauce, and mustard was laughable.

"I think that's questionable, Hales." Nathan smiled. "Remember the time you asked me to make you a sandwich with only mayonnaise on it?"

"Ew! Did you actually eat it?" Brooke asked in disgust.

"Brooke, a mayonnaise sandwich is not that weird." Haley defended herself. "And besides, you eat potato ships covered with katchup and you're not even pregnant," She huffed. Brooke shouldn't be calling her cravings weird when she herself ate much weirder things without the crazy pregnancy hormones.

"Ok, can we move on to the next question before I barf?" Peyton asked jokingly.

"So, have you thought of any names yet?" Lucas questioned, waiting to hear if his name was on their list.

"We're actually waiting to find out the sex before we think of names." Nathan answered. He and Haley had discussed names before, but after getting into quite a few mini-arguments over them, they decided to wait until after they found out the sex to discuss names.

"Well, I for one think that Lucas would be a great name." He responded.

"Nathan! Come up here!" A voice called from the balcony of condo number 10 and all five of them looked up to see Tim practically falling over the railing to yell something to Nathan.

"Why?" Nathan yelled back.

"I can't get the PS2 to work! I need your help!" Tim replied as if it wasn't totally pathetic. Haley laughed a little at this. She would swear that Tim was supposed to be born a bat or something. He stayed indoors all day every day, sleeping, eating and playing his Playstation. Even when the weather was gorgeous! And then at night he would go out and return in the morning, only to start the whole process over again.

"I don't know what you did or how to fix it, Tim." Nathan grumbled. Why would he want to go up there and fix the dumb PS2? As far as he was concerned, the thing was better off broken. This way Tim wouldn't be playing it every second of the day and Nathan would finally get a chance to watch his beloved SportsCenter.

"I'm actually getting kind of hungry." Haley stated, as if to tell him that they could go up so he could help Tim and she could treat herself to a filling dinner.

"Nathan! If you don't come up and help me, then I'm not going to get in my daily PS2 time, which means that I won't be in a good enough mood to go out tonight, or any night for that matter! Do you know what that will do to my reputation?"

"See you guys later." Nathan said suddenly as he took Haley's hand and they stood up to leave.

"Bye." The rest of them called as Nathan and Haley walked through the gate and then into the building.

"So, what do you want for dinner? I'll make it while you fix Tim's toy." Haley proposed.

"I don't know, whatever you feel like making." Nathan said simply. He was not looking forward to finding out what Tim did to the Playstation and then fixing it. Not at all.

"Why are you going to fix Tim's toy again? Just earlier today in the car you told me that you hated how Tim hogged the TV 24/7." Haley laughed.

"Haley, he said he would have to stay home tonight, and every night. I couldn't take that chance." Nathan grinned mischievously. He could handle Tim during the day, but he had definitely grown accustomed to Tim not being there at night…

"Nathan Scott, you have one very dirty mind." Haley joked.

"No, I just have one very hot wife." He corrected, receiving a playful shove from his 'hot wife'.

* * *

Peyton sat curled up in a blanket that evening as the cool breeze from the sea blew the hair out of her face. She had noticed that Brooke seemed to want to talk to Lucas about their recent relationship problems, so had relocated to the balcony which had both a perfect view of the ocean and of the pool. 

Right now, a bunch of teenagers were horsing around in the pool. They seemed to be playing 'Marco Polo' or 'Sharks and Minnows', but she couldn't really tell. The group reminded her so much of when she had been a teenager and how she, Nathan, and Tim would roughhouse in the pool all the time. But that was before.

That was before everything had changed. Before Nathan had gotten married. Before Tim had decided to throw away his Care Bear. Before she had fallen in love and then lost it all. Willing that last thought out of her mind, for now at least, she focused on the first thing in her life that had changed since the last time she was here.

Nathan was married! And just when she was almost used to that concept, she found out that he was going to be a father! This was definitely a sign that things had changed. She remembered when Nathan used to tell her that long term relationships were his enemy and the thought of settling down made him want to slit his wrists. Now, it was obvious that the Nathan that she once knew was gone. He had been replaced by a new, older, more mature, and overall better Nathan.

Speaking of gone, Peyton couldn't help but think of the progress in maturity that Tim made when he finally gave up his beloved blue Care Bear. Peyton remembered how on his 8th birthday, Sherry, Tim's step mom, had given Tim the blue bear and Tim had slept with it on his night stand ever since. It was only about 2 years ago, on his 20th birthday, that she and Nathan convinced him that it was time to let the thing go.

Suddenly, Peyton was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a high pitched giggle. She looked out to the beach to see a tall dark haired man playing in the ocean with a young girl. Peyton focused on the two, not wanting to believe that it was them, but knowing that the man and child in front of her in the distance were indeed the ones that haunted her dreams. A small tear cascaded down her cheek as she watched the two, knowing deep down that leaving them, that not letting them be a part of her life, was her biggest mistake and that she would never get a chance to take that decision back.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. They help me to stay happy even though exams start later this week. :-( So, this is the chapter where I really going to start bringing in the bigger storyline, so please tell me if you like it or not, even though there is only a little bit in this chapter. What I'm trying to say is that starting now the plotline is going to start coming into play. lol. Sorry it took kind of a long time to get to. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 10**

Tim stared in curiosity as he watched a dark haired guy take orders from a dark haired girl while carrying a large closed box into the condo complex. He was utterly intrigued at how this guy, who looked to be about the same age as him, was doing everything that the snobby girl in combat boots told him to. The guy reminded him of Nathan, meaning the girl would be Haley. Only, Haley didn't ever wear combat boots so that wouldn't work… "Nathan, why do you think those dorks are bringing boxes with them? Don't all of the condos come fully furnished?"

Nathan walked out onto the balcony from the open door and looked down at the suspicious couple. "Yeah, I don't know why they need boxes."

"What's going on out here?" Haley asked as she joined them by the railing of the small deck. She put her hand up to her face to shield the early morning sun from her eyes as she tried to get a good look at the new neighbors. "Why do they have boxes?"

"That's what we were just trying to figure out." Tim explained. "Maybe they're CIA. I hear those people are always brunette."

Nathan and Haley glanced at him in aggravation. How and why would he know something, or rather think something, like that? "Or maybe they just have a lot of stuff." Nathan responded.

"You're telling me. Did you see the ass on that girl?" Tim laughed. However, he quickly stopped when Haley shot him a death glare. "Don't worry, your ass is better."

This time _Nathan _shot him a death glare. "Could you not talk about Haley's ass, please?"

"My bad. Now what are they doing?" They had just noticed the pair lugging a sheet-covered object into the building. None of them could tell what it was, but to Haley, it looked similar to a giant telescope or microscope or something of that nature. "I told you they're CIA!"

"Only one way to find out. I'm going to go introduce myself." Haley said happily. She had never been a low key neighbor, she always thought of herself as more on the nosy side. "Oh, cookies!"

"What?" Nathan and Tim asked at the same time.

"We need cookies. You know, as a housewarming gift…or a condo warming gift. Whatever. We need to have a reason to go over there and cookies are the answer." She opened the refrigerator door and let out a proud 'aha!' when she located the package of slice-n-bake cookies that she had stashed in the fruit and vegetable drawer so neither Nathan nor Tim would find the dough. "These will take a good 20 minutes, but after that, we have some prying to do!"

"Do you know how perfect you are?" Nathan smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. How did he manage to find a wife who was not only willing to put of with Tim as a roommate, but also knew the perfect way to snoop at the new neighbor's place?

"Nathan! Get off of her! We need those cookies done ASAP!" Tim scolded. He wanted to know what it was like being in the CIA, and he wanted to know now! Or, in 20 minutes at least.

Exactly 21 minutes and 42 seconds later, all three of them were standing in front of condo number 6 with a plate of cookies and friendly smiles. Haley reached up to knock on the door and was surprised when it opened only moments later. A semi-tall dark-haired guy stood in the doorway smoking a cigarette, a couple of tattoos visible on his arm from his wife beater. "Do you need something?" He asked.

Haley had to try her hardest to keep from coughing, as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and held it off to the side a little bit, basically right in Haley's face. Nathan quickly, but subtly, changed places with her; making it seem as though she moved over so that she could be in the middle and therefore the speaker. "Hi, my name is Haley Scott, and this is my husband Nathan and our friend Tim." She explained.

The guy continued to stare at them and all Nathan could think about was how ridiculous the guy looked. His teeth were yellow and his hair was standing straight up, but not spiked on purpose. His wife beater was literally hanging off of him because it was about 3 sizes bigger than it was supposed to be, and his pants might as well have been at his ankles. "We are staying in condo 10 on the third floor." Nathan clarified.

The guy still didn't say anything, but instead took a few minutes to quickly size up the three. First, he looked at Tim, taking in his slightly idiotic look. Then to Nathan, noticing the way he was in good physical shape and assumed that he played some kind of sport. Lastly, he focused on Haley letting his eyes look her up and down and linger on her curves. Nathan watched the guy, who looked to be some kind of convict, look at his wife and could already feel his blood starting to boil. All he could think about was how he was at least 3 inches taller than the dumb ass and would probably be able to beat that annoying smirk off his face in a fight. He already hated these new neighbors.

"Um, we brought you cookies." Haley smiled, trying to hide how uncomfortable she felt under the weirdo's gaze. She extended her hands to present the nicely wrapped cookies to the man.

"Oh, ok. Nicki!" He called over his shoulder. Nathan, Haley, and Tim figured that he must be yelling for the girl in the combat boots. "Come get these!"

Before any of them could blink an eye, the girl, Nicki, stood in front of them as well. "Who are you?" She asked bluntly.

"We live upstairs. My name is Haley, and this is Nathan and Tim." Haley said sweetly, thankful for the semi-normal look of the young woman in front of them. Sure, she was a little on the emo side, but so was Peyton…

"Oh!" Nikki's expression completely changed from being annoyed to have guests to ecstatic for the company. "My name is Nicki Chavez, and this is my brother, Nick."

"Wait, your mom named you guys Nicki and Nick?" Tim chuckled. Who does that?

"Yeah." Nick said flatly, causing Tim to abruptly stop laughing. Nick wasn't exactly big, he was just scary. He looked like the type of guy who would pull a knife on you during a wrestling match. "Did you say he was your husband?" He asked, motioning from Haley to Nathan. "Too bad." He added when Haley nodded her head.

"We actually have to go because we're meeting some people for…stuff." Nathan said abruptly. He wasn't going to take another minute of this criminal-looking guy all but hitting on his wife.

"Ok, well it was nice to meet you all. Thanks for the cookies!" Nicki smiled before pulling the door closed. As Nathan, Haley, and Tim turned to leave, the faint sound of Nicki shouting at Nick could be heard through the door. The only question going through Nathan's mind was why?

* * *

"So, I told Tim that if he was going to cry about his dumb Playstation being broken, then he was going to have to go to a hotel for the night because I was tired and wanted to go to sleep." Haley laughed as she recounted the events from the previous night to Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas. Nathan had been unable to figure out what was wrong with the game system and Tim had started crying. Yes, crying. 

"I'm assuming that he stopped crying?" Brooke chuckled. They were all sitting around the table in condo number 9, waiting while Nathan took Tim to Target to buy another Playstation 2.

"No, he just locked himself into his room to cry." Haley smiled. Tim could be so childish at times. "Oh, and guess what we did this morning?"

"What?" Lucas responded, taking special care not to look at Brooke. After their fight the night before, they hadn't even spoken to each other. Brooke had even spent the night in Peyton's room. He wasn't even sure what she was all mad about. Apparently she thought he didn't want to commit to her, like get engaged or anything, which was absolutely false. He would love to marry her someday, he just wasn't ready yet. When he told her that last night though, she had gotten all mad and said that she wasn't going to wait forever because she wanted to settle down and have a family at some point…They were still in college! What was with his friends and wanting to grow up as fast as possible?

"We paid a visit to the people that moved in downstairs in condo 6." Haley said without much enthusiasm. The new neighbors definitely were not what she had been expecting.

"Really? I saw the guy this morning from the patio. He looks kind-of fine." Brooke smiled, feeling her heart rip a little bit more when Lucas didn't show any reaction whatsoever to her statement. One upon a time, he would get insanely jealous of her saying another guy was attractive. Now it was as if he didn't even care.

"Yeah, well, think again." Haley laughed. "I mean, unless you like tall, dark, and scary."

"Wait, scary?" Peyton chuckled. "Hales, I think you're messing up the words." She joked.

"No, he's scary. First of all, he practically bit our heads off for bringing them cookies."

"What kind of cookies? Because if they were oatmeal cookies or something then I don't blame him." Brooke said playfully.

"They were chocolate chip. And oatmeal cookies are good!" Haley said defensively. "Anyway, then the guy, who had tattoos on his arms and was literally swimming in his shirt, put his lit cigarette practically right in my face."

"Ew!" Peyton said sympathetically. "I hate it when that happens. Did you know that over 50,000 people die every year from second hand smoke?"

"Good to know, Peyton." Lucas said sarcastically. "How do you know that?"

"I wrote a paper on it for a class a couple of years ago. Did you also know that some scientists think that smoking can cause hair loss and premature grey hair?" Peyton answered, clearly proud of herself for knowing this information.

"Fascinating. Now Haley, keep going with your story." Brooke prodded, ignoring Peyton's indignant look.

"Then we introduced ourselves and he started staring at all of us as if he was, I don't know, trying to memorize every inch of our bodies or something." Haley said, almost disgusted. That had definitely been one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life. She felt like she was being judged or something.

"Wait, while you were still breathing the smoke?" Peyton asked incredulously. She was very into the whole 'smoking kills you' thing.

"No, Nathan switched spots with me. So guess what happened next?"

"What?" They all said at the same time, all utterly intrigued by her incriminating story about the new neighbors.

"Ok, get this, he tells his sister to come out, and at first, she's acting really unpleasant, but then as soon as we told her that we live in condo 10, she was suddenly really friendly. Then when we left, we heard her yelling at the guy from behind the door. It was o weird."

"Did you see what was up with all of those boxes they were carrying in this morning?" Brooke asked hopefully. She really wanted to know what was in those boxes.

"No, they didn't even invite us in. If you ask me, they were beyond rude." Haley huffed. The whole point of bringing cookies to someone is so they will let you in and you can get to know them better, didn't those people know that? If she had known that they weren't even going to _share_, then she would have saved the cookies for herself.

"Do you know what their names are?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, um, I think it was Nick and Nicki Sanchez or Lopez or something." Haley shrugged indifferently as she reached her hand into the bowl of popcorn that she had popped as a snack.

Upon hearing the name 'Nicki', Peyton visibly stiffened. No, it couldn't be the same one. She was just being paranoid. _But what if it is? Peyton, stop. Stop worrying. There's only, like, a ½ percent chance that it's the same Nicki._

"Hey, we're back." Nathan said as he entered the condo.

"Where's Tim? Please tell me you left him at Target?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"No, he's hooking up his Playstation." Nathan replied regretfully as he left a sweet kiss on Haley's head and then sat down next to her.

"We were just talking about your encounter with the new neighbors." Lucas laughed. She had a feeling that Nathan liked these two people less than Haley did.

"Oh my God! I wanted to beat the sh- I mean crap out of the guy!" Nathan exclaimed, receiving a satisfied look from his wife. "Did Haley tell you what he said?"

"No, what did he say?" Brooke asked, getting more interested every moment.

"He asked her if I was her husband and then when she said 'yes', he said 'too bad!' I wanted to kill the guy." Nathan said bitterly. It was one thing to basically hit on someone's wife, but it was another thing to do it right in front of the girl's husband! "And let's not forget that he was staring at her."

"He sounds like a creep." Brooke sympathized. "You don't think he's, like, a fugitive or something, do you?"

"I hope not." Haley laughed. That would just be weird.

* * *

"Spade." Haley commanded as she knelt in the sand and filled a bright green bucket with the gritty sand in front of her. 

Nathan looked confusedly at her before turning to the pile of sandcastle building equipment she had brought down with her. What the hell was a spade, anyway? "Baby, can you please talk in English?" He laughed.

"It's like a mini-shovel." Haley clarified as she looked up at him. "Can you please hand me the blue one?"

Nathan chuckled as he reached over and grabbed the blue shovel and handed it to her. "So, when do you think you will be too old to build a sandcastle?" He laughed. He loved watching her dig in the sand, it was one of the cutest things he had ever seen, especially since she had sand on her cheek and didn't even know, but he was wondering if she was still going to be building sandcastles when she was 50.

"Nathan Scott! Are you embarrassed that I'm 21 and building a sandcastle?" Haley smiled as she turned the filled bucket over and created a perfect cylinder out of the sand.

"No." He said playfully. "I just think it makes you look younger than 21."

"Will you help me?" She asked sweetly.

"I am helping you. Did you forget that I just handed the spade, or whatever it's called, to you?" He smiled.

"No, I meant help me build it." Ever since she was younger she would build a sandcastle every time she came to the beach. It had become a ritual of some sort. It was almost as if she wasn't really at the beach until she built a sandcastle. The only real difference from when she was little and now was that she had always built her own sandcastle, wanting it to be one thing that she did without any of her brothers and sisters helping. Of course, getting the water and handing her the materials was not considered helping. Now, she found herself asking Nathan to help her and actually wanting him to.

"Haley, I don't really feel like building a sandcastle." Nathan said carefully. He didn't want her to think that he didn't want to build one _with_ her, because he really just didn't want to build one. Unless it was a sweet ass one with 5 levels.

"Not even for me and the baby?" She made her puppy dog eyes and stared at him.

Determined to not give into her famous eyes, the ones she put on to get him to do anything, he tried to change the subject. "What does the baby have to do with anything?" He smiled.

"Don't you want the baby to develop a sense of family unity and learn how to have fun by being a kid?"

_Huh?_ What did family unity have to do with building a sandcastle? She confused him more with every passing second. "He'll have time to learn that stuff once he's born."

"Nuh uh. In my child psychology class, I learned that a lot of tendencies are learned in the womb. Like thumb-sucking, recognition of it's parents voices…And do you know how stupid you're going to feel if we find out that the baby is a girl?" She laughed at the last part.

"Fine, I'll build the sandcastle!" He said dramatically and then moved over to wipe the sand off of his wife's face.

Brooke watched them from the towel she was laying on. She knew that Nathan may have acted as though he was annoyed with having to play in the sand with Haley, but that he was really glad to do anything for her. She only wished that Lucas felt the same way. It was shattering her heart the way that he kept pushing her farther and farther away. She remembered a time when they acted like Nathan and Haley, so happy, so in love. Sure, they were still in love now, but they were far away from happy.

Maybe the only reason that she wanted Lucas to propose so badly was that she could feel them growing apart and didn't want to lose him? She pondered this thought for a few minutes. What kind of person does that make her? A selfish one? Was it selfish to need someone in your life so badly that you would commit the rest of your life to them in order to keep them there? If Lucas didn't want that, if he didn't want to spend the rest of his life with her, then maybe she was being selfish by asking him to?

She glanced over at Lucas who was sitting under an umbrella reading "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. She had always found it amusing that he _chose_ to read books like that. Even if the book had been assigned to her to read for class, she would have just read the SparkNotes. She wasn't really someone who enjoyed reading, which was yet another thing that the two did not have in common.

She thought about the fight they had had the night before, the one that was so bad that she slept in Peyton's room. It had been the first time she had slept in a different bed than Lucas in about 2 years. During their argument he told her that he wasn't ready for marriage, that they were still in college. She wasn't really ready for marriage yet either, but that's what a long engagement is for! She just wanted reassurance that he would be ready some day, which was proved false when he blatantly told her that he might never be ready. That part had hurt the worst. Did he want her to wait until the end of the earth for him, knowing that the time may never come? Eventually she wanted to get married and have kids, did he expect her to just give that up so he could make up his mind?

She tore her eyes away from Lucas, not wanting to think about the pain that she hid so well from everyone else, and refocused on Peyton. Brooke really didn't even know the whole story behind Peyton's break-up with Jake, she just knew that Jenny's birth mother had become more and more 'in the picture' and that somehow it ended up badly. She wished that Peyton would open up to her and tell her what happened, but she knew that it would take time. It had only been a year since she lost the man she loved.

Suddenly, she noticed a dark haired, tattooed guy walk onto the beach through the path from their condo complex. _That must be the creepy neighbor guy! He actually is kind-of cute._ The guy, _Nick was it?,_ slowly scanned the beach and Brooke noticed his eyes land on her. She was a little nervous because of the description that Nathan and Haley had given of him, and quickly turned over so her face was looking the other direction.

"Excuse me. Do I know you?" She heard a voice say from behind her. She could tell from the deep and scratchy tone of his voice and the way that the scent of smoke circulated into her nose that it was most certainly Nick. Didn't guys know how unattractive that smell was?

"No." Brooke said shortly.

"Well, in that case, I'm Nick Chavez. I live in condo number 6 of-"

"I know where you live. I live in condo 9. With my boyfriend." Brooke responded quickly, hoping that he would be discouraged by this information. At this time, Lucas noticed the situation and immediately stiffened as he watched some son of a bitch hit on his girlfriend.

"Cool. I'm actually having a housewarming party tomorrow, if you want to come." Nick smiled mischievously. This girl was definitely hot, but then again, how many girls in the world weren't hot? Not many.

"First of all, I don't even know you." Brooke said sternly. "Second of all, I didn't know about this party, and if there were a party mister, believe me, I would know."

"You are the only one invited." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Brooke had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Sure, the guy was kind-of cute, but she would never even consider a relationship with him, especially since she was with Lucas. No matter how bad their relationship was at the moment, she would never prefer this bozo to Lucas.

"The third is that her boyfriend is going to beat your ass if you don't leave her alone." Lucas said suddenly as he came up behind her.

"I'm guessing you're her boyfriend?" Nick mocked jokingly. This guy was so…_scrawny_. Sure, he was taller than him, and maybe this doof was a _little_ bit more muscular than him, but he was still scrawny.

"No, he is." Lucas smiled as he pointed to a large man nearby who looked as though he was a body builder.

Nick's eyes grew as he stared at the large man. He should probably leave this chick alone if that was her boyfriend…"Whatever." He turned around and waved to a dark haired girl who had just come down the path and entered the sandy beach. "See ya around." He mumbled before walking away.

Brooke looked up at Lucas curiously. She felt as if her heart was about to burst with excitement. He cared! She glanced over at Peyton to see if she had seen the whole ordeal, and became a little concerned when she saw her basically getting in a verbal cat fight with the girl next to Nick.

"Peyton, I didn't expect to see you here." Nicki said flatly as the blonde approached her.

"What are you doing here, Nicki?" Peyton asked in an irritated voice.

"I'm just here to spend some quality time with my brother." Nicki said innocently.

"What's going on over here?" Brooke asked as she came up beside Peyton, sending both Nick and Nicki her evil eye.

Peyton sighed before answering. "This is Jenny's mother, Nicki."


	11. Chapter 11

Hey, thanks to all of you for the reviews. They are awesome. Some of you have asked if there will be any cheating in this fic, and I have to say that I'm not a big fan of cheaters. lol. I don't even think I could write anything were someone cheats. ;-) Hope that helps...and I hope you like this chapter...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 11**

"I can't believe you ate that whole thing!" Brooke said in amazement as she and Peyton stared at the empty plate in front of Haley that had previously held a very large cheeseburger. It was Tuesday, about a week and a half after they first arrived, and the girls were now out for their designated shopping day.

"Brooke, it's not my fault." Haley defended herself. It really wasn't nice of Brooke to make fun of her appetite.

"Whose is it? Nathan's?" Brooke asked suggestively as Peyton groaned.

"Do we have to make every conversation about sex?" She complained.

"Peyton, yes. Lord knows I'm not getting any so I have to live vicariously through Haley." Brooke explained.

"You and Lucas are still fighting?" Haley asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, he even cancelled our date yesterday." Brooke pouted. Ever since the fight last week, the two had barely spoken to each other. Aside from the little episode at the beach with Nick, he had literally avoided conversation with her. "But at least I get to go shopping and buy new stuff to take my mind off of it."

"Speaking of, I still haven't gotten anything for Nathan for our anniversary this weekend, so we need to get moving." Haley said. She still wasn't sure what to get him. He already had everything she thought of.

"P. Sawyer, you never told us about that Nicki girl." Brooke said, changing the subject so she could sit at the table of the small café they were in a little longer. The only bad part about shopping was the exercise.

"Yes I did." Peyton responded shortly.

"No, you said she was Jenny's mom, but you never told us why you hate her so much." Brooke prodded.

Peyton let out a large sigh, figuring that it was probably time to tell her friends about what happened between her and Jake. "Do you guys remember how when we were seniors, I got that text from Jake saying that Jenny's mom was in town?" Both of them nodded. "Ok, well, I thought that it was just a visiting thing, and it was, at first." She paused now, trying to get the details straight in her head before recounting them to her friends.

_1 year ago…_

_The sun was hiding behind the dark grey clouds as Peyton knocked on the clean white door that lead to Jake's house. She hadn't seen him or Jenny in a couple of months so she decided to drive down from college and surprise them because she had a long weekend. When the door opened, she saw the familiar face of the man she loved and automatically pulled him into her arms in a tight hug. _

"_Peyton, what are you doing here?" He asked with a light laugh. If she hadn't been so happy to see him at the moment, she would have noticed the nervous tone of his voice._

"_I felt like I hadn't seen you in forever, so I decided to come for a visit." Peyton explained. "Why, are you unhappy to see me?" She joked._

"_No, it's not that. It's just that…" He trailed off as he looked into her sparkling green eyes. He didn't want to worry her, or make her jump to some sort of insane conclusion. For the past 2 years, Nicki, Jenny's mom, had been in town and they had sort of started a tradition of taking Jenny to Chuck E. Cheese's a few times a year, and today was one of the days that they were going._

"_What?" Peyton asked. Another reason that she had driven down here was because she wanted assurance that he still wanted to be with her. His phone calls had gotten less frequent and it didn't soothe her mind to know that he lived in the same town as Nicki. At first, she thought she was fine with it and that Nicki would move away soon, but as the weeks turned into months and months turned into years, Peyton began to worry that maybe Jenny's mom was there to stay. _

"_Well, Nicki and I were going to take Jenny to Chuck E. Cheese's today." He explained and watched helplessly as Peyton's heart seemed to break in front of his eyes. _

"_So you guys are…what exactly?" _

"_We're not together or anything, Peyton. You have to believe that. It's just that Jenny is 3 years old and really needs both of us and a stable family. So if I can provide something similar to that, then that's what I'm going to do."_

"_Wait, is Nicki here? Right now?" Peyton fumed. She felt betrayed even though she knew that she had no reason to. When Jake didn't answer, she made her way past him and looked into the living room where a dark-haired woman, Nicki, was playing Barbie dolls with a 3 year old Jenny. Jenny looked so happy in that moment to be playing barbies with her mommy. She turned back to Jake, wiping a tear from her eye. It was painfully obvious that Jenny needed her mom and a family. "Look, Jake. I know that you love me and I know that you would never hurt me, but I think that maybe we should take a break."_

_Jake couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was she breaking up with him? All because Nicki was in his house? "Why?"_

"_It's obvious that you want to do what's best for Jenny and I do too. Jake she needs her mom, but I don't think I can be 100 miles away and know that the girl you once loved is here almost every day with you." It was obvious to Peyton that this was not the first time Nicki had been in the house by the way she was so comfortable on the floor with he daughter. If Jake had kept the fact that Nicki was trying to be a part of Jenny's life from her, then what else could he possible be hiding? "Maybe you should give the family thing a shot."_

"_What are you talking about?" Jake was so confused right now. Was she breaking up with him because she was jealous, or not?_

"_Can you honestly look at Nicki and then tell me that you don't have feelings for her?" Peyton said as she choked back tears._

_Jake sighed as he looked from the woman he loved to the woman who gave him his daughter. "I'll always have feelings for Nicki, she had my baby." Jake defended himself. "But I don't love her, I love you."_

"_But do you think you owe it to Jenny to see if you could ever love Nicki?" Peyton said quietly. She didn't want to hear the answer._

"_I don't think I will ever love Nicki." Jake sighed in frustration. _

"_Jake, I know what it's like to not have a mother. I want you to give Nicki a shot. Give your family a shot." It pained her to say this. She had not been expecting to break up with him when she made the decision to come down here, but seeing Jenny with her mother, she realized that all that a little girl ever wants is a family. Who was she to mess with that?_

"_I don't want to give Nicki a shot." He tried, knowing that deep down, he did, for Jenny's sake. He knew that he loved Peyton more than he would probably ever love Nicki, but he also knew that in doing what was best for his little girl, he should try to make their family work. "I love you."_

"_I know, and I love you too, I always will." Peyton said through tears. "But I'm going to leave now because I know that's what's best for Jenny. And what's best for you."_

_Jake felt a lump form in his throat as he watched the love of his life, who had only arrived minutes ago, walk out of his front door and out of his life._

_Present…_

"So, if Jake was going to give the family thing a try, then why is Nicki here with her brother?" Haley questioned.

"I don't know. The last time I heard anything about her was a little while after Jake and I broke up and I heard she had moved in with Jake and Jenny." Peyton said flatly. She had broken up with Jake because she really felt like the best thing for him and Jenny was to have Nicki in their lives one way or another. And there just wasn't room for both her and Nicki.

"That's terrible, Peyton. I'm so sorry." Brooke said caringly.

"It's ok. I think maybe I can finally try to move on with my life. I can't live in the past forever." Peyton sighed. "Ok, enough of my depressing life story, let's talk about something happy." She smiled as both she and Brooke looked over at Haley.

"What?" Haley laughed.

"Tutor girl, come on. We all know that your life is happier than ours right now. So tell us something to cheer us up." Brooke commanded.

"Like what?" Haley giggled. It was true that her life seemed to be going the right way at the moment, but that didn't mean that it was always going to be this good. She was afraid that by saying out loud how happy she was at the moment she would jinx it and something bad would happen.

"I don't know. There are only like a million perfect things in your life right now." Brooke joked. "Your anniversary, your baby, your new clothes."

"Ok, I get it. Um, I don't know, what do you want me to say?" Haley smiled questioningly. Were they asking her to brag about her life?

"Tell us about the baby." Peyton concluded.

"What about it?" Haley smiled to herself as she realized that she had just referred to her baby as an 'it'. Wow, she couldn't wait until the doctor's appointment next week when she could finally find out if her baby was a 'he' or a 'she'.

"What does it feel like? You know, to have a baby inside of you?" Brooke asked curiously.

"I don't know how to describe it." Haley said honestly. "It's awesome."

"Come on, give us something better than 'awesome'." Peyton commanded.

"It's just amazing to know that this little baby depends on me. I felt it move last week in Charlotte and-"

"It kicked?!" Brooke asked excitedly.

"No, it moved." Haley laughed. "But it will probably start kicking once I get a little bigger. It felt almost like someone tickled the inside of my stomach. It was great."

"Aw." Brooke cooed. "I want a baby!" She joked.

* * *

"Nathan, we've been out looking for something for an hour. Can't you just make up your mind?" Lucas whined. He didn't like shopping for 5 minutes, much less an hour. "What was wrong with that cute t-shirt?" 

"Lucas, it's our one year wedding anniversary, I don't think a t-shirt that says 'fun in the sun' is really appropriate." Nathan said back in frustration. He really wasn't fond of shopping either, but he wanted to find something that would actually mean something to Haley.

"Well, what about that promise ring we saw at the gas station?" Tim threw in and the other two looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Lucas laughed. "Dude, that's way worse than a t-shirt!"

"Why?" Tim sulked. Girls loved promise rings.

"Tim, I already gave her a promise ring." Nathan responded as they continued to walk down the street in search of a store that might have something good enough for Haley's anniversary present. "And besides, why would I give her a promise ring from a gas station?"

"Wait, when did you give her a promise ring?" Tim asked confusedly. He had never seen Haley wear a promise ring.

"At our wedding you idiot." Nathan said in frustration just as they passed in front of a jewelry store. "Let's go in here."

The three guys made their way into the small store and each began to look in different sections of the store, Nathan at the bracelets and necklaces, Lucas at the rings, and Tim at the saleslady. Lucas scanned the display of large diamond rings in the corner, and suddenly felt a revelation coming on.

Brooke had basically told him that she wanted him to propose during their fight a couple of nights ago, but it wasn't until now that he realized that marriage wasn't the biggest issue between them that she was hinting at. She wasn't mad because he was hadn't proposed, she was mad because he was unwilling to. He internally groaned as he recalled their fight and how he had obviously led her to believe that he never wanted to get married. That was not true at all, he would love to get married someday, just not someday soon. At the moment he didn't even want to think about marriage, he just wanted to enjoy life.

What was it about girls and wanting to settle down so young? Was there something wrong with waiting until you're 30? He became frustrated all over again as he absentmindedly picked up a ½ carat diamond ring. This is what their fight was about? This expensively priced ring? It seemed ridiculous that this huge fight between he and Brooke was over this little ring, although he had to admit, Brooke would love a ring like this. It was a gorgeous ring with a total of three diamonds. He smiled to himself as he watched Brooke in his mind receiving a ring like this and basically freaking out.

"That's a great choice sir; I'm sure that special someone will love it." A smiling saleswoman said as she came up behind him.

"Me?" Lucas asked in astonishment as he dropped the ring onto the counter as if it were on fire or something. "Sorry." He said sheepishly as he handed the ring back to the still smiling woman. She obviously thought she was going to get a decent size commission for this sale. "I was just…I was just looking." He stammered.

"Ok, well, then please be more careful with the merchandise." She said coolly but with a smile nonetheless and then moved on to where Nathan was currently staring into a glass case full of necklaces. "May I help you, sir?"

"Yeah, I'm actually looking for a present for my wife for our anniversary." He said, taking his eyes off of the diamond encrusted choker that was priced at 15,000 dollars and looking at the seemingly helpful woman. How was it possible for a necklace to cost 15,000 dollars?

"Oh, your anniversary! We actually have some items that are specifically made for anniversaries if you will follow me…" She came out from the other side of the counter and led him to the opposite end of the shop. "Were you thinking more along the lines of a necklace, a bracelet, or a ring?"

"Necklace. She doesn't really wear bracelets very often and the only rings she wears are her engagement ring and her wedding ring." Nathan said as his eyes scanned the glass case for something that would stand out to him as the perfect gift. He quickly realized that this was going to be harder than he thought because every time he imagined Haley in one of the necklaces, she looked gorgeous in all of them. "Let me see that one." He said suddenly when he noticed a necklace with one small diamond square hanging off of it.

"This is an excellent choice, sir." The lady said as she took the necklace from the case and handed it to Nathan. "What makes it special is that we carry those exact charms individually so every time you have an anniversary, you can add another diamond to the necklace."

Nathan smiled to himself. That was a pretty cool idea and he knew Haley would love it. He glanced down at the price tag and his eyes grew when he saw all of the zeros. "How big is this diamond?" He asked skeptically. How could this necklace that was basically plain except for the diamond in the center cost over 1,000 dollars?

"Well, that diamond right there is a half carat, but when you buy the necklace you are also obligated to buy another diamond charm for it, making the total come to 1 carat." She smiled.

"Why do I have to buy another one?" He asked. He would pay the 1,000 dollars, but he knew that if Haley ever found out how much it cost, she would kill him.

"It's store policy, sir." She smiled brightly.

Why the hell was it store policy that you had to buy two of something when you only needed one? If he did buy it, which he knew that he would, he knew that he would only lose the other diamond before next year. Then another thought came into his head. Next year they would have a baby crawling around. The second diamond was definitely not a good idea; he knew what babies were like, always getting into things and putting everything in their mouths. If he stashed the other diamond somewhere, who's to say that the baby wouldn't somehow find it and choke on it?

Ok, so that was a little dramatic, but he really didn't want to buy the second diamond now. There had to be some way out of that. "What if I buy this but I can't take the other diamond with me? Can you keep it here until next year?"

"No, sir, I'm sorry. It's against store policy." The woman said apologetically and then put that same smile back on her face.

He really wanted to see this store policy. What wasn't on it? "Ok, well, thanks anyway, but I don't think it's a good idea to buy the second one already."

"Why? Are you anticipating a divorce?" The woman pried, hoping to keep him around long enough to buy something, anything.

"No." Nathan laughed lightly. "I just don't know where I would keep it that my wife wouldn't find it."

"Most men I have talked to say that they hide it in the back of the bottom drawer of the dresser." The woman offered hopefully.

"That's not going to work either because we'll have about an 8 month old baby this time next year." He said shortly, hoping that she would either let him leave or tell him that he didn't have to buy the second diamond.

"Oh, congratulations." She smiled.

"Thanks." He said sincerely. "We really need to get going, but thanks for your help." He turned to leave but was stopped by the woman's voice again.

"Wait, I could probably find a way to get around the store policy." She smiled as Nathan walked back to the counter. She had actually been lying about the policy being that you have to buy both diamonds, she just wanted more money. The fact was that most men did buy another in advance and that was why the price was set for the price of the second diamond.

"That would be great." Nathan smiled victoriously. He had had a hunch that the store really wouldn't make him buy an extra diamond and he knew that if he was right, the lady would stop him on the way out.

"Will you be paying with cash or credit?"

* * *

"Nicki, where the hell have you been?" Nick questioned angrily as Nicki walked into the condo. 

"I told you, I was going to Bill's to get some better weed." Nicki smiled innocently. "What has your panties in a bunch?" She laughed.

"This isn't funny. No one saw you did they?" Nick said angrily. How could she be so careless? They had worked so hard so far to keep their identities a secret, and then she had to go get 'better' weed?

"Relax big brother. No one saw me." Nicki laughed as she sat down on the couch and started painting her fingernails black.

"Let's keep it that way. If you want weed, then just tell me and I'll get it for you." Nick said angrily. "We don't want a repeat of last time."

"I didn't even get in trouble for that!" Nicki defended herself. "Mr. Oliver didn't even press charges!"

"But it could have been worse! If he had, everything we've worked for would have been discovered. We can't take that chance anymore, especially since I got this job and we are one step closer to our goal." Nick walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer, gulping it down in just 3 large swigs.

"When does your job start, anyway?" Nicki asked, only half paying attention.

"Tomorrow." Nick answered gruffly before lighting a cigarette and leading it to his mouth.

"That totally sucks that you have to clean this dump." Nicki laughed. She was so glad she wasn't the oldest in the family and therefore the one in charge of the operation. "Did the old man cough up any information yet?"

"No, but he will. In the meantime, keep an eye on the people living here, we may need to know them eventually." Nick said as he racked his brain trying to remember the people that lived around him.

"Well, there's Peyton Sawyer in 9, the one who was playing mommy to my daughter." Nicki said bitterly. She hadn't even seen Jake or Jenny in almost a year. She had taken off when she got her brother's call a few weeks after moving in with Jake. It was funny how she didn't even miss either of them.

"Can we start on the first floor?" Nick said grumpily. When you're listing names, you always start from the bottom and work your way up. Everyone knows that.

"Whatever, there's that Chris Keller guy who was telling us about the time he met Johnny Depp. You know, the one who you scared into jumping into the pool."

"Oh yeah." Nick laughed, that guy was such a loser. "And then there's that old couple next to us who have like 50 kids."

"Pay attention, Nick. They have 3, all in college. And their names are Dave and Wendy." Nicki sad as she blew on her nails to help them dry faster.

"Ok, then we have those people on the third floor. What do you have on them?" Nick asked eagerly. Nicki had always been much better at observing and gathering gossip that he was.

"Well, I already told you about Peyton Sawyer. She won't be a problem. She's so weak that she dumped Jake because of me." Nicki laughed at the irony. Peyton dumped Jake because of Nicki who left only 3 weeks later. "Staying with her are Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott. I don't think we'll have to worry about them too much for the time being because they're going through some kind of relationship drama."

"Keep an eye on that drama, Nicki. I want to know as soon as things are back to normal between them because that means that that Lucas kid will be an issue."

"Ok. Then across the hall in 10 are the three people that brought us cookies. That Tim Smith guy who, let me just say, we do not have to worry about. He's duller than a pillow. Then Nathan and Haley Scott. I don't think they'll be much of a problem."

"Why is that?" Nick asked eagerly. He was really hoping that none of the people on the third floor were going to be a problem because the third floor was most likely where the object of their stay here was being kept.

"Because the girl is pregnant." Nicki said simply.

"Good." Nick said happily. Pregnant woman were the easiest to work with because they were easily fooled and always did what you told them to. "But what about the guy? Just because his wife's pregnant doesn't mean that he won't pose a threat."

"True, but from what I've seen, he's really preoccupied with this baby stuff." Nicki laughed. She always found it funny when men turned into saps once they became fathers, kind of like Jake did.

"Let's hope so." Nick mumbled. Right now, Nathan Scott seemed to be the only posed problem and Lucas Scott could quickly turn into one too. One thing was for sure, they were going to have to keep a very close eye on those two in order to find their weaknesses, just in case.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everyone. First off, I want to thank those of you who reviewed. You have no idea how much it means to me. Next, I want to say that I'm sorry this took a little longer to update, I had exams yesterday and I went to see Pirates 3 (very good by the way). I'm still going to try to post updates at least every other day, but I have exams next week so there's no guarantee that I'll get around to it. Lastly, I just want to say that I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!

P.S. Even though I have exams, the more reviews I get, the more I feel like writing and saving the studying for later. ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 12**

"I'm thirsty." Haley stated and then looked pointedly over at Nathan. They were at the beach with Tim early Friday morning, the day of their anniversary.

"Let me guess, you want me to go get you some water?" Nathan laughed.

"I never asked you to do that." Haley smiled playfully. "But now that you mention it, water sounds pretty good." She rolled over on her towel so she was facing him better.

"Yes, I'll go get you some water." He chuckled. He had no idea what he was getting into this morning when he told her that since it was their anniversary, he would do everything she asked all day.

"You're the best." She smiled before sitting up to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

"I don't mind. You're the one who has to stay here and keep an eye on Tim." Nathan laughed as he looked up to see Tim body boarding…without a body board.

"True." She laughed before he stood up, kissed her on the top of the head, and then headed back to the condo.

"Haley, where did Nathan go?" Tim asked as he came out of the ocean, soaking wet and stood on her towel to keep his feet from burning on the hot sand.

"He went to get me a water bottle." Haley said simply as she put her sunglasses on. "And can you please not stand on my towel? You're getting it all wet."

"_You're getting it all wet_." Tim mocked in a high voice like a first grader, receiving an evil glare from Haley. "You are so mean, first you make Nathan your slave and tell him to go all the way back up to the condo so you can have a bottle of water, then you make me get off of your towel. Brat." He mumbled before walking back onto the ocean.

"Hey! He offered!" Haley defended herself in a shaky voice as her eyes welled up with tears. _Stupid hormones._

As Nathan was just about to enter into the condo complex to go up the stairs to his own condo, he heard Whitey call his name and stopped to turn around. "Hey, Whitey, what's up?"

"Nathan, I hate to ask you this but I need you to go see if Nick Chavez in condo 6 is ever planning on coming to work." Whitey said gruffly.

"Why do _I_ have to ask him if he plans on going to work today?" Nathan said with a smirk. "I think you're getting senile, Whitey. I don't work for you anymore."

"Damn it, Nathan. I'm really busy today because I have a meeting with the bank about a loan I took out a couple years ago. I need Nick to start work immediately because the bank representative will be here any minute. Now can you stop being a smart ass and go get him?" Whitey huffed. Why did Nathan always have to be so difficult?

"Sure, I'll go get him. What work does he have to do, anyway?" Nathan was interested to know because maybe it would shed some light onto all of the weird boxes they moved in with last week.

"He's my new maintenance man." Whitey said shortly. "Now go on!"

Nathan laughed as he turned around to head up the stairs to the second floor. He remembered being the 'maintenance man'. Those were the days. About a minute later, he was standing in front of condo number 6 but before he could knock, he heard muffled yelling from inside and instinctively leaned in a little closer to listen. Normally he wouldn't care what the hell they were saying, but these neighbors had sparked his curiosity by bringing those weird things into their condo.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop buying Mary Jane?!" A deeper voice scolded. "It's too risky." Nathan concluded that this one must be Nick, but what in the world was he talking about? Mary Jane? Someone bought her so she must be like, a prostitute or something? Unless…unless Mary Jane was marijuana. Not good.

"Nick! Don't worry; my purchases are not going to get in the way of the bigger picture." A higher voice said. This voice had to be Nicki, and to Nathan, she sounded a little bit bored by this conversation. "God, how many times do I have to tell you that."

"Nicki, I know what it's like to have a habit, hell I dropped out of school to pay for mine, but you have to be careful." Ok, so they were definitely talking about drugs. Great, he lived above a couple of potheads.

"Do you think that I wouldn't be careful?" Nicki laughed sarcastically.

"I know how carefree you are." Nick shot back. "And I know that we have a job to do and your Mary Jane might get in the way of that." Nathan was assuming that the job that they had to do was the cleaning job, that would make sense, but that didn't change the fact that the addicts living below him were having a cryptic conversation about their drugs.

There was silence for a few moments and Nathan decided that now was the best chance he had to knock and have them think that he hadn't heard their conversation. He brought his hand up to the door and knocked 3 times, taking a step back when Nick flung the door open and looked at him suspiciously. "Hey, Whitey told me to come up and see if you are coming to work today." Nathan said evenly.

"Who the hell is Whitey?" Nick asked roughly. Had Nathan Scott just heard that conversation?

"Oh, Mr. Durham." Nathan corrected himself. He forgot that not everyone knew his nickname. "So, yeah. You might want to get down there."

"Sure." Nick said before slamming the door in Nathan's face.

"Asshole." Nathan muttered before going back to the stairs and heading up to his own condo to get Haley's water.

"Nicki." Nick said sullenly after waiting a few minutes in silence to make sure Nathan was gone. "What did I tell you about keeping your voice down?"

"Oh, please, Nick." Nicki rolled her eyes. "He didn't hear anything."

"How do you know? For all we know he knows about our whole damn plan. We have to be more careful so I want you to keep an even closer eye on him. Did you find anything else out about either of those Scott guys yet?" Nick asked meanly.

"Well, Lucas and his girlfriend are still fighting, but if you ask me, they're getting closer to making up. I also found out that Lucas is afraid of crabs, aparently one latched onto his foot or something a few years ago. And I don't really have anything on Nathan yet. All I know is that it's his anniversary today." Nicki said indifferently as she put a new gold stud into her nose were a silver one used to be. "I'm feeling gold today."

"Shut up. I don't care about your dumb ass nose piercing. I care about keeping our job a secret from the nosy neighbors. Do you even know what will happen if someone catches us?"

"Like I care." Nicki muttered.

"Not only will we go to jail, but Grandpa will kill us." Nick whisper yelled.

"Please, gramps is like 80 years old." Nicki laughed.

"But he's still the owner of the business. If we screw this up, our asses are on the chopping block. All I'm asking you to do is find out both Scott's weaknesses, just in case they end up in the way and there comes a time when we need to exploit them."

* * *

Haley sat up with a smile when she saw Nathan finally retuning with her water bottle. "There you are. I was beginning to think you decided to stay up there and watch TV or something." She joked. 

"Sorry, Whitey asked me to go tell Nick to get to work." Nathan said uneasily as he sat down on the towel across from her. That conversation had bothered him ever since Nick slamed the door in his face. It seemed like they were talking about something bigger than drugs…he just didn't know what.

"Work doing what?" Haley asked curiously as she took a drink of water.

"He works for Whitey like we used to." Nathan responded shortly. "Listen, I want you to stay away from them, ok?"

"What?" Haley laughed. "Why? You sound like the Godfather or something." She smiled as she opened her water and took a large drink from it. Being in the sand always seemed to make her more thirsty. Maybe it was because the sand was always so hot, or maybe it was because all of the water around her was salty.

"Because I overheard one of their conversations, and I would just feel better if you stayed away from them. Especially that Nick guy." Nathan said. Nick seemed like the type of guy who had major psychological issues as well as anger management problems. The last thing he wanted was for Haley to be anywhere near him. He also decided that as soon as he got the chance he would tell Lucas and see what he thought about the situation.

"Well, if you want me to not talk to the neighbors, then you're going to have to tell me what this terrible conversation was about." Haley answered with a smile. What could be so bad that her husband would ask her to stay away from them? Peyton may have a gridge against Nicki, but that didn't mean that Haley had to despise her as well.

"They were talking about buying drugs and stuff and it was all really weird." Nathan explained hurriedly.

"How do you know that they were talking about drugs?" Haley chuckled. Nathan had always had a way of jumping to conclusions. She remembered one time in their senior year of high school he had thought that the world history teacher was a Nazi just because he said that swastikas were an ancient symbol that were used long before World War II.

"They were talking about Mary Jane, Haley, and in case you didn't know, Mary Jane is another name for marijuana." Nathan replied. Why was she fighting him on this?

"I know what Mary Jane means." She said indignantly, but quickly softened when she saw how serious he was about this. Obviously he thought there was a reason for her to stay away from them and she trusted his judgment. "If you really think that it's necessary for me to stay away from them, then I will." She really hadn't been planning on talking to them anytime soon anyway.

"Thank you. I just wouldn't feel comfortable with you over there by yourself of anything." He admitted. "Feel free to talk to them anytime I'm with you." He added playfully.

"Oh, ok." She smiled sarcastically before leaning over to kiss him.

* * *

"Nathan, what do you think? Dress or Bermuda shorts?" Haley asked as she held both up in front of the mirror and pondered which one would be most appropriate for their anniversary dinner. "Brooke told me to wear the shorts." She added. 

"I don't know." Nathan chuckled as he fixed his collar in the mirror in the bathroom. "Which one do you want to wear?"

"I guess I'll go with the shorts since I'm not going to fit in them much longer." She smiled as she took the white Bermuda shorts off of the hanger and then removed the cheerleading shorts she was wearing to pull the nice ones up her freshly tanned legs. Nathan smiled a little to himself. She wouldn't fit in the shorts much longer. She was going to look so cute when she waddled around. "Nathan! Oh my gosh! Come in here!"

"What?" He asked in an alarmed voice.

"My shorts won't button." She smiled as Nathan looked down at her stomach where her shorts would normally be buttoned, but were not. "Nathan! My shorts won't button!" She squealed excitedly.

"Oh my God!" He said happily as she jumped up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Your shorts won't button." He laughed as she shook her head.

"Nope." She smiled before tilting her head down to leave a loving his on his lips. "Nathan, do you know what this means?"

"What?" He asked as his arms shifted a little underneath her to better support her.

"This means our baby is growing." She whispered with a playful smile.

Nathan immediately captured her lips with his own, walking over to the bed to set her down. "Let me see." He commanded gently as he knelt down in front of her. She willingly pulled up the loose shirt she was wearing to expose her slowly swelling stomach. There really wasn't that big of a change, but because Nathan knew her body so well, he was almost immediately able to recognize that her abdomen had grown outward ever so slightly. "Wow." It was amazing to him how just yesterday her shorts had fit and now they didn't.

"I guess I'm going to wear the dress." She giggled as Nathan pressed his warm lips to her belly. "You know, I think the baby likes it when you do that."

"Why do you think that?" He said playfully while smiling lovingly up at her.

"Because, when you touch my stomach, it moves. It doesn't move when anyone else touches it." She said softly as she brought her hand up to caress the place on her abdomen that Nathan had just kissed. They really needed to find out if the baby was a boy of a girl soon, it was really getting on her nerves to call their child an "it" all the time.

"Really?" Nathan questioned with a smile. "I wish I could feel." He couldn't think of anything that would make him happier than feeling his baby move. If only the little one would learn to kick sooner rather than later.

"You will." Haley assured him. "Give it a week or two. But right now you need to leave." She giggled playfully as she pulled him to his feet and ushered him towards the door.

"What? Why?" He laughed. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Go to Lucas's or something. You can't see me until I'm done getting ready. Now go." She patted his arm playfully as if to tell him to get moving.

"How long until you're ready?" He asked as he stopped in the front doorway.

"Uh…10 minutes. Yeah, I'll be ready in 10 minutes." She declared before giving him a brief kiss and then closing the door.

A few moments later, Nathan walked into condo number 9 wearing a goofy grin. "Hey, I thought you had a hot date tonight." Peyton joked as she looked up from the sketch she was currently working on.

"I do. She's changing again and she said I'm not allowed to see her until she's ready." Nathan explained as he leaned against the counter. "So, I came over here to wait."

"Why is she changing? I laid out a perfectly good outfit for her." Brooke huffed as though she had been insulted. The outfit she had picked out for her friend to wear was cute, why would she change out of it?

"Yeah, she would have worn it if it fit." Nathan smiled, knowing that Brooke would catch on to why it the shorts didn't fit.

"What? It doesn't fit?" Brooke yelled excitedly. "Oh my God! I have to go see!"

Nathan laughed as Brooke ran out of the condo and across the hall. "I think she's more excited than I was." He smiled as he sat down next to Peyton.

"You know what? I doubt that." Peyton smiled, never looking up from what she was drawing in her notebook. "I would bet 100 bucks that you were more excited than Brooke."

"Why is that?" Nathan asked as he turned on the TV.

"Because I know you. And I know that you probably freaked out more than Brooke did." She laughed in response as she turned her pencil upside down to erase a line that was a little too squiggly for her liking.

"I did not freak out." Nathan defended himself evenly. "I don't freak out."

"What would Haley say if I asked her how you reacted?" Peyton said as she looked up and raised an eyebrow, an antagonizing smile on her face. She loved it when she was able to catch Nathan in one of his macho moments. He didn't freak out? Yeah right.

"She would tell you the truth. That I was happy, but I didn't freak out." He smiled as he settled the TV on ESPN. The truth was actually that he did basically freak out. He didn't jump up and down or anything, but he had been pretty excited.

"Sure." Peyton mumbled provokingly.

"Ah! I just saw Haley! Oh my God! I'm so excited!" Brooke screamed as she reentered her own condo. "And let me just say, Nathan, she looks drop dead gorgeous thanks to the shoes I picked out for her."

"Ok, Brooke." Nathan laughed. "I told you she was more excited."

"Brooke? Did you happen to ask Haley how Nathan reacted?" Peyton inquired from her seat, her eyes still glued to her drawing, a smug smile on her face.

Brooke looked over at Nathan and started laughing. "Actually, I did. She said you freaked out."

"I did not!" Nathan defended with a smile, knowing that at this point it was hopeless. "Fine, I freaked out." He laughed with the girls until the sudden opening of the door behind them started them all.

"What up all?" Chris Keller asked as he jumped over the back of the couch and landed in between Nathan and Peyton.

"Oh my God!" Brooke screamed when she realized that Chris had just walked into her condo and jumped over her couch. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was bored so I decided to come for a visit. What's going on Nate?" Chris asked cheerfully as he stuck his hand out for a high five, only to be completely denied by Nathan. No one ever gave him a high five!

"Chris, you can't just barge into someone else's condo." Nathan said in annoyance. Why did Chris think he owned the world?

"The door was unlocked." Chris defended himself. "And you can do whatever you want when you're famous." He winked as Nathan and Brooke rolled their eyes.

"I'm sure you can, but you're forgetting one small detail." Peyton said with a fake smile as she closed her sketchbook and set it on the coffee table.

"What's that?" Chris asked arrogantly.

"You're not famous." Peyton spat our and Chris made an irritated face. "In fact, I'm probably more famous than you."

"That was brutal." Chris whined. "And I am too famous. The other day, this old lady asked me fore my autograph."

"Really?" Nathan asked sarcastically. He didn't care if the president asked for his autograph, it didn't make him any less annoying.

"Yeah, after I ran into her car with my shopping cart she asked me to sign, like, 10 papers. They were probably for her great grandkids or something. I think she recognized me from all the tabloids I've been in lately." Chris boasted as the other three tried to keep from laughing.

"Sure Chris." Brooke managed to say as she pulled a yogurt out of the refrigerator.

"Why are you all dressed up?" Chris asked suddenly upon noticing Nathan's formal appearance in kakis and a light blue shirt with a nice tie.

"None of your business." Nathan replied shortly. He didn't feel like he had to tell Chris anything about his personal life, in fact, he didn't have to tell him anything at all.

"Nate, you are such a party pooper. Just tell me. Are you going to some award ceremony or something? Why wasn't I invited?"

"I'm not going to some geeky award ceremony." Nathan mumbled, hoping that Chris would just leave before he made him leave.

"Ok. Hey, have you guys met the people who moved into condo 6?" Chris asked as he got up, grabbed a banana out of the fruit bowl on the table, peeled the bright yellow skin back, and stuffed about half of it into his mouth.

"Unfortunately." Nathan mumbled.

"Chris, stop eating our food!" Brooke scolded.

"Well, the guy, Nick, he grunted in my face when I was standing by the pool and then pushed me in!" Chris complained. "I wanted to beat his ass, but I figured that I should be a nice person and let it slide."

Nathan, Peyton, and Brooke all started laughing. The thought of Chris even trying to beat Nick's ass was hilarious. And something told Nathan that Nick hadn't pushed Chris in, but that Chris had probably jumped in willingly. Maybe because he was scared of Nick?

"Knock, knock." A soft voice called from the doorway and all of them turned to see Haley enter into the condo wearing a cute, knee-length, pale yellow sundress. "Nathan, are you ready?"

All Nathan could do was stare at her. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Her honey blond hair was in loose curls that flowed around her shoulders and her dress tied at the top in an elegant halter neckline. The only thing that was running through his head was that if they could just skip their dinner reservation he would take her back into their bedroom and show her just how much he loved her…

"Well, well." Chris smiled. "It looks like someone got all dressed up for a little Chris Keller."

"In your dreams." Haley laughed as she walked over to Nathan and dropped a small kiss on his lips. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She whispered to him with a radiant smile.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered back as he kissed her ear softly and she blushed.

"Oh, you know it." Chris said loudly in response to her 'in your dreams' comment. At this, Nathan turned to give him a warning look. "What? She practically begged for that one." Chris laughed.

"We have to go." Nathan said. As he and Haley made their way out the door. "But, you two have fun getting Chris to leave." He smiled before he closed the door behind them.

"Seriously, where are they going?" Chris asked.

"It's their anniversary, moron." Peyton taunted. Chris was just so clueless at times.

"Anniversary? As in they have been married for a year?" Chris asked incredulously. His mouth dropped open in shock when Brooke and Peyton shook their heads 'yes'. "Huh, I always assumed they got married because of the kid."


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone, thank you so much for the reviews! Keep it up! I don't really have anything else to say other than I hope you like chapter 13...

P.S. I'm sorry this is late, but in my defense I did update it last night. I don't know what happened, but I think the site got screwed up some how and thought I didn't update? Who knows...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 13**

"So, do you want your present now? Or when we get back home?" Nathan asked after handing his menu to the waitress. They were sitting across from each other at a nice restaurant, waiting while their meals were cooked.

"Home, it will be more special at home." Haley concluded with a smile. She would prefer to open her present at home because with the way her hormones had been so crazy lately, she was sure to cry. The last thing she wanted to do in this fancy restaurant was make a scene.

"That's probably a good idea since you're going to love it so much." Nathan teased. "You'll probably want to start kissing me."

"Oh really?" Haley laughed. "Well, what makes you think that you have to give me a gift for me to want to kiss you?"

"Nothing really. I've just noticed that I always end up with a kiss after I give you something." Nathan smirked.

"Nathan! Is that why you spoil me? So I'll give you kisses?" Haley asked playfully as he nodded his head. "Huh. Well, tonight I'll give you a kiss just because I love you."

"Sound's good." He smirked. "When do I get this kiss?"

"I don't know." Haley responded coyly. "When you least expect it."

"Oh, ok." He laughed. Just then, a tall red head walked by and both Nathan and Haley had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't the person that they thought it was. Thankfully, when the woman turned around, they both realized that they had been mistaken. "I seriously thought that girl was Rachel for a minute." Nathan laughed when he looked back over at Haley.

"Me too! Thank God it wasn't. That would have ended ugly." Haley laughed with him. She and Rachel weren't exactly best friends. Not only did Rachel make fun of her poncho, for which she had completely forgiven Nathan but still held a grudge against his read-headed friend, but Rachel had been a full on brat during their entire senior year.

_Almost 4 years ago…_

_Haley took a deep breath as she stepped out of Nathan's car. It was the first day of their senior year of high school and Nathan had insisted that he drive her so she didn't have to take the bus. They both knew that people would instantly notice their relationship and many of them probably wouldn't understand it at first. _

"_You ready?" Nathan asked as he grabbed her backpack out of the back seat and draped it over his shoulder with his. _

"_Yeah. Just promise me that you'll ignore all the girls that are going to hit on you?" She smiled. It was weird that just the year before, she had never really talked to Nathan, and now she was madly in love with him. She really wasn't worried about what other people were going to say about them being together. What did make her a little uncomfortable though was the way that she knew that probably half the girls in the school were going to throw themselves at him before the day was over. She had learned a long time ago that that was a typical occurrence in the life of Nathan Scott._

"_I can't do that." Nathan responded coyly as she gave him a puzzled look. "Well, what if you hit on me?"_

"_Oh, you're funny." She said sarcastically as he started laughing and took her hand into his. _

"_Nathan, hey!" A female voice called from behind them as soon as they entered the school building. _

"_Let the fun begin." Haley mumbled, already recognizing the voice as belonging to none other than Rachel Gattina. Rachel was probably the one person in the world other than Chris Keller that Haley had no patience for. Ever since the poncho incident freshman year, Rachel had done nothing but antagonize her._

"_Hi Rachel." Nathan let out in more of a groan than a friendly voice._

"_Haley? Is that you?" Rachel asked in a fake polite voice as she stared at Haley next to Nathan. Of course she knew that it was Haley, she just couldn't figure out why she was holding Nathan's hand._

"_Hey Rachel." Haley said flatly, not even pretending to like the girl._

"_Forgive me for being blunt, but why are you contaminating poor Nathan's hand?" Rachel giggled._

"_Rachel…" Nathan sighed. He knew that there were only a few people in the school that would give Haley a hard time about being with him, and Rachel was one of them. Ever since freshman year, she had acted as if she owned him. She always got strangely possessive when he was with other girls. It annoyed the hell out of him._

"_I wasn't aware that I'm not allowed to hold my boyfriend's hand." Haley said back coolly._

_Rachel would have choked or something if she had been eating. What did Haley just say? "I'm sorry. What?"_

"_You heard me." Haley said back. "He's my boyfriend."_

_Rachel's mouth fell to the floor. Now Haley was going to get it. Nathan hated when girls called him their 'boyfriend'. She should know, she had made that mistake once and he had rejected her instantaneously. No, Nathan Scott didn't do the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing, and now Haley was going to be kicked to the curb. This was going to be good. "Really?" She smirked._

"_Yeah…" Haley said warily. Why was Rachel looking at her like that? _

"_Somehow I doubt that. Nathan's more of a no strings attached kind of guy."_

"_I'm actually right here, so…yeah." Nathan said, amused by the scene in front of him. He had to admit, feisty Haley was definitely hot. _

"_How would you know?" Haley spat back. "You only went out with him once."_

"_Which I'd venture to say is one more time than you did. I mean, come on, what bet could he have possibly lost that would make him damage his reputation by walking into school holding your hand? Don't forget that he saw you in that ugly poncho." Rachel laughed._

"_Ok, Rachel. That's enough." Nathan interjected. As much as he would have liked to see Haley bite Rachel's head off, he didn't want to hear Rachel saying this stuff to her anymore. "Haley's serious. She is my girlfriend."_

_Rachel was momentarily dumbfounded. Did Nathan just use the word 'girlfriend'? She wasn't sure if she had ever actually heard him say that word…ever. "Wait, __**Haley**__ is your girlfriend?" She still couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why Haley? Haley was so…normal._

_Nathan nodded his head right before the warning bell rang, telling them that they had 5 minutes to get to their first classes. "We actually need to go, so…"_

"_I can't believe this." Rachel mumbled. She had worked so hard for the last three years to get Nathan to go out with her, and then Haley snags him after just one summer? It didn't make sense. 'She must be pregnant,' Rachel thought. Then, an idea came to her just as Nathan and Haley turned to head down the hall. They would not be allowed to be happy about being together. If she couldn't be with Nathan, then no one could, at least not happily. She took her hands up to her mouth, creating a makeshift megaphone, and then shouted at the top of her lungs. "Nathan Scott got Haley James pregnant!"_

_Present…_

The rest of that year, Rachel had made it her purpose in life to spread ridiculous rumors about both Nathan and Haley. Fortunately, people rarely believed them after about a week. Senior year had been very interesting in the way that Rachel had really been the biggest form of resistance that they met. Sure, there were quite a few girls who were visibly jealous when they heard the news of Nathan and Haley dating, but for the most part, everyone was accepting.

"Baby, you know you like Rachel." Nathan joked. He knew that if there was one person in the world that Haley would pray to God would get stuck in a Siberian ice storm, it was Rachel Gattina.

"Yeah, about as much as I like blood. They both repulse me." She smiled.

"Remember the day that she left for UCLA?" He smiled.

"How could I forget, that was the third happiest day of my life." She laughed.

"Third happiest?" Nathan chuckled. "What were the first two?"

"Our wedding day, and the day we found out about the baby." She responded with a smile, her eyes shining.

"What do you know? Those are mine too." He said with a grin.

"What was the third happiest day of your life?" She asked, genuinely interested to know. Surprisingly, this was one thing that they had never talked about before.

"Honestly?" He asked and she nodded in return. "The day my dad went to jail." He wasn't really proud to say that he was happy about his own father going to jail, but it was the truth. Once Dan was taken behind those bars, he had felt an overwhelming sense of relief. It was then that he knew that Dan wouldn't be able to hurt him or anyone else he cared about ever again.

Haley reached her hand over the table to squeeze his hand reassuringly. She knew how he felt about Dan and she also knew that he was ashamed that he hated his own father. Before she could say anything, the waitress retuned with their food. "That was fast." She commented as the woman set the plate of salmon in front of her. She had had a craving for salmon all week, now she could eat some.

"Mr. Scott?" The light haired lady asked after setting Nathan's steak on the table in front of him.

"Yeah?" Nathan asked confused, he had never told this woman his name. Haley watched the waitress too, obviously aware of the fact that she seemed to know Nathan's name before he told it to her.

"I'm sorry. I know you're in the middle of a private dinner; it's just that my son is a really big fan. He has a picture of you on his wall and he requested your number as his when I signed him up for little league basketball, and it would really mean a lot to him if I got an autograph for him. You can just sign a napkin if you want, he wouldn't care-"

"Sure, do you have a pen?" Nathan asked. When the woman nodded and produced a black pen from her apron, he turned to his wife. "Hales, do you have a piece of paper?"

"Of course I do." She smiled as she reached into her purse. She wasn't called 'Tutor Girl' for nothing.

Nathan laughed when she ripped out a piece of paper from a Scooby-Doo notebook. "You're a weirdo."

"Shut up, you love me." Haley smiled. "What's your son's name?" She asked the woman as Nathan began to write a note to the little boy.

"His name is Brady. He's 6 years old." She beamed and Haley couldn't help but think that she would be like that soon. Soon she would have a child to talk about to others. "Thank you so much, he will really love it!" She smiled as she stuffed the note in her apron. "I've got some other tables to get to, but I'll be back soon to make sure you have everything you need."

With that, she hurried off and Nathan turned to look at Haley who was smiling brightly at him. "What?" He laughed.

"Don't 'what' me Nathan Scott. You're famous!" She joked. "I knew I was doing a good thing by marrying you."

"I am not famous. It was for a kid, nothing that special." He smiled.

"It was to me." She giggled before stuffing a bite of salmon into her mouth.

"Why is that?" He had to admit that being recognized like that was fun and he loved knowing that he was someone's role model. It made him feel like he was actually making a difference in the world or something, even though all he was doing was playing college basketball.

"Because, I'm so proud of you when things like that happen. I mean, I'm always proud of you, but I love to see you get credit for how much effort you put into basketball." She smiled.

"That was pretty cool, wasn't it?" He chuckled. It made him feel really good to know that somewhere out there a child looked up to him.

"Yeah, it was." Haley laughed.

* * *

Nathan carried the to-go-boxes that Haley insisted that they bring home as they walked up to their condo after dinner. Nathan set the bag of to-go-boxes on the ground as he stuck his hand in his pocket in search of his key. Upon finding it, he moved to stick the key into the door but just before he was able to, Haley stepping front of him and pulled his face down to hers in a sweet kiss. "Was that my 'I love you' kiss?" He smirked after she pulled away from him. 

"No." Haley smiled as her eyes glowed mischievously. "That was just the kiss before the kiss." She added coyly as she took the key from his hand and unlocked the condo door. They both stepped inside, not surprised to find Tim missing; it was a Friday night after all. "Hold on, I need to get your present."

"Where did you hide it?" Nathan asked in interest. He had looked everywhere, under the bed, in between the couch cushions, on top of the refrigerator, but had still not been able to find it.

"I hid it where I knew you wouldn't look." She smiled as she opened the refrigerator door and bent down to pull open the vegetable drawer.

She put it _in_ the fridge?! _Damn it, why didn't I look there?_ "Well, I'll look there from now on." He laughed. "I mean, cookie dough, presents, what else are you hiding in there? For all I know there's a puppy sitting next to the broccoli."

"Sorry, no puppy." She smiled as she pulled an envelope out and closed the refrigerator. "Now, sit down so I can give you your present."

"Wait, I have to go get yours." He laughed as he made his way into the bedroom where he had hidden the expensive gift. Luckily, he didn't end up having to pay 1,000 dollars for the necklace, but what he paid still wasn't cheap.

Haley could hear him rustling through clothes in the other room and decided that he must have hidden it in a dresser drawer. He was such an amateur. It's a good thing that she didn't go looking for her gift because his sock drawer would have been where she started.

When he came out of the bedroom, she was absentmindedly doodling on the outside of the envelope and he chuckled to himself as he plopped down on the couch. He wanted to see this impromptu drawing; he knew as well as anybody that Haley had very low artistic abilities. When she walked over to sit on the opposite end of the couch, Nathan quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her on top of him. Haley giggled when she landed in his lap and quickly kissed him on the nose. "I want you to open yours first."

"Whatever you say." Nathan conceded gladly. He had overheard Brooke and Haley talking about whatever it was that she got him a few days ago. They said something about a "tip" which made him very curious.

Haley handed him the envelope and Nathan stared at the cover for a few moments. Never in his life had he seen such beautiful art work. It simply said 'I love you' in a bunch of squiggly lines, but it was enough to make him feel like the drawing on the front, which she had done a few minutes ago with her spare time, was the entire present. He put his arm around her waist and kissed her bare shoulder before smiling up at her. "I love you too."

"Don't forget to read the card first." She reminded him playfully as he opened the white envelope and reached his hand in.

After smiling playfully in response to her instructions, he pulled out the card. His eyes slowly scanned over the extremely long note she had written and he smiled at all of the beautiful things she had said. God, he loved her. "I love it. I think that was my favorite card ever." He smiled at her.

"Aw, you're so sweet. Now open the present." She demanded impatiently. She knew that he was going to love this gift and she was excited to see his reaction after working so hard to get it.

Nathan chuckled as he reached his hand into the envelope again, this time pulling out what seemed to be a small piece of thick paper wrapped in tissue paper. Nathan looked at her inquisitively and proceeded to remove the tissue paper when she gave him an encouraging look. He pulled the gift from the wrapping paper and his mouth fell open at what he saw. "These are Bobcats tickets."

"I know. Do you like it?" She asked excitedly, already knowing that he did.

"Hales, how did you get these? This game has been sold out for months." He laughed happily as he studied the two tickets in his hand. They were for the second row for the Charlotte Bobcats game against the Atlanta Hawks 2 weeks from now in Jacksonville.

"I'm actually not sure. Brooke knows somebody who knows somebody. She said that as long as you are there by the tip off she can arrange for you to have floor seats." Haley grimaced, trying to remember what Brooke said. She knew the rules of basketball and everything from watching Lucas and Nathan play so many times, but she still got confused when anyone talked about professional games. It was as if those people had their own set of rules.

"Wait, you're not coming with me?" Nathan asked curiously. She had said 'you' instead of 'we'.

"Nathan, you know how much I love to watch you play right?" She giggled and he nodded his head. "And you know that I really don't enjoy watching anyone but you or Lucas play, right?" Nathan nodded again, starting to see where this was going. "Well, I figured that you would have more fun going with someone who appreciates basketball so I invited Tim to go with you. Then I threatened to burn his Buzz Lightyear pillow if he told you."

Nathan laughed. She had no idea how alike they truly were… "Thank you so much. I love it." He smiled as he pulled her in close for a kiss. "You're definitely the best wife ever."

"I know." She joked. "Now hand it over." Nathan chuckled as she held out her hands playfully in order to receive his gift which looked to be wrapped professionally. She couldn't help but laugh a little as she saw the perfect bow made out of ribbon that was sitting on top of the small box. "So, you wrapped this yourself?"

"Nah, the store did that." He smiled, knowing she was joking about the wrapping. It was quite obvious that no man wrapped that gift.

"Oh." She nodded knowingly and with a large grin as she opened the card. "Nathan!" She scolded playfully as she read the first couple of sentences and he burst out into laughter.

"I knew you'd like the beginning." He joked as she gave him a playful shove. "We can do that later if you want."

Haley smiled at him mischievously before answering. "Sounds like a plan."

"Really? Even the part about handcuffs?" He raised his eyebrow before laughing again.

"What?! I hadn't gotten to that part yet!" She laughed. "Nathan Scott, you are such a bad boy." She continued to giggle as she read through the rest of his note and by the end she was sniffling and trying to hold back tears. "That was so sweet." She said as she gave him a warm smile. "You're definitely my favorite husband too." She joked in reference to the last line of his card.

"Thanks." He laughed as she began to gently tear the wrapping paper off of the small box. "You know, we don't have to save the wrapping paper or anything." He teased.

"It's so pretty though." She concluded. "I would feel bad if I just ripped it up, especially since trees had to die to make it." Nathan chuckled at her antics as she removed the single piece of wrapping paper and set it on the coffee table. "Oh my Gosh." She whispered when she opened the small box and saw the beautiful necklace sitting inside. "Nathan, it's gorgeous."

"I'm glad you think so." He smiled as she removed the necklace from the box to get a better look at it. "The lady told me that this is actually a special necklace because we can add another diamond to it on every one of our anniversaries."

"Really?" She asked with a smile. That was an amazing idea. She started to cry now, mainly from the hormones.

"Why are you crying?" Nathan asked softly, trying to keep from laughing at her sudden mood swing.

"I…I don't know." She stammered as she wiped a tear from her eye and then started to giggle. "It's just so beautiful. I love it…I'm a real basket case, aren't I?"

"No, you're only half crazy." Nathan joked.

"What makes you say that?" She laughed as she finished drying her eyes.

"You can't be all crazy since you had enough sense to marry me." He explained.

"True." With that, she kissed him softly on the lips and then shifted around in his lap so that she was facing him and each of her legs was on either side of his waist. "Thank you so much. I really love it."

"You're welcome. Do you want me to put it on you?" He asked sweetly.

She smiled mischievously at him before shaking her head no. "I think we would end up taking it off as soon as I put it on."

"Yeah, probably." He laughed before pulling her close for another kiss which intensified quickly to where Haley had Nathan pinned with his back against the couch and he was playing with the strings of the halter tie on her dress.

"Nathan, wait." She commanded breathlessly when she felt the tie that was holding the top of her dress up starting to come loose. "I want to show you something."

"Do you have to?" Nathan whined playfully and groaned when she got up off his lap. "Hales, where are we going?" He asked when she grabbed his hand and led him out the front door.

"I told you. I have to show you something." She replied coyly as they started making their way down the stairs. The sun was hovering just above the horizon as Haley led Nathan outside and over to a familiar sign that led into the parking lot of the condo complex. "I saw this a few days ago." She giggled as she pulled back the flower arrangements that were growing in front of it and revealed a small heart in red paint.

Nathan laughed as he leaned in for a closer look. How was it possible that what she had painted four years ago was still there? The same 'NS and HJ' were initialed inside of the little red heart and it looked as if it had just been painted yesterday because the paint had barely chipped at all. "I can't believe that no one has painted over that yet." He said in amazement as he draped his arm around Haley's shoulder, bringing her closer to him.

"I love you, Nathan Scott." She mumbled against his chest.

"And I love you Haley James Scott." He smiled back as he kissed her head and then she leaned up to kiss him on the lips. She pulled his face to hers and captured his lips in a passion filled kiss. His arms wrapped around her back, careful not to hold her too tight, while one of her hands went to the back of his head and ran through his short dark hair.

"So, this is your 'I love you' kiss." She giggled after pulling away from him for air. "Happy anniversary."

He chuckled as he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and then kissed her soft lips again. "Happy anniversary." He mumbled before picking her up and allowing her legs to wrap around his waist. The happy couple stayed that way for a long time, her in his arms, giggling and laughing in an adorable show of PDA.

"Nick." Nicki called from the balcony as she witnessed the two flirting and kissing. It was obvious that they were in love and that was something that Nicki was seeing for the first time. "I think I just found Nathan Scott's weakness."

"Good. We might need it if worse comes to worse." Nick stated as he joined his sister on the deck. "So what is it?"

Nicki pointed out to where Nathan and Haley were now laughing and kissing as Nathan whispered something in her ear. "His wife."


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys. First, I just want to say how awesome was last night's episode?! I loved it! Lots of drama and some amazing Naley scenes. I want to thank all of the wonderful people who reviewed, you are all amazing and I love you. My exams are over so hopefully I will be able to update more frequently :-) Enjoy chapter 14...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 14**

It had been a week since Nathan and Haley's anniversary and a total of about 3 weeks since the whole group had first arrived at the beach for the summer. In the past week, Haley's bump had grown much more noticeable. She had stopped wearing her bikinis already because when her stomach was exposed, it was completely obvious that she was expecting.

She absentmindedly stroked her slightly enlarged abdomen as she sat in the stiff blue chair with Nathan sitting to her right. Her stomach was at the size where someone passing by probably wouldn't notice it unless they really looked, but someone who was looking would easily be able to spot its somewhat round outline.

Nathan's leg was nervously shaking up and down as he watched all of the women, some with a husband and some without, going in and out of the door that led to the examining rooms in the back. They were all different sizes, some as slim as toothpicks, others looking like they were going to burst at any moment. He had been to these appointments with Haley quite a few times before, but each time he still got nervous. It was something about doctors' offices, they made him jumpy.

"Haley Scott." A friendly-looking nurse called as she stepped through a large swinging door. Haley smiled as she looked over at Nathan with a reassuring look. She knew how much doctors' offices put him on edge. It was kind-of funny to watch him get all tense every time they came to an appointment like this. She grabbed his hand and together they followed the light-haired nurse into one of the rooms in the back. "Just go ahead and lay down over there and Dr. Jones will be in in a few minutes." The nurse smiled before exiting.

"This place is nice." Haley smiled as she looked around. This was her first time in this particular office because she had just gotten all of her medical information transferred here from her doctor's office up by Duke so that she could continue to have her checkups without driving up to Chapel Hill. The one down here seemed to be a little nicer, newer maybe.

"Yeah, they even have a chair in here for me." Nathan joked. At their very first appointment, Nathan had had to stand the whole time because the office didn't have an extra chair in it. Apparently, they didn't see many of the fathers…

Haley sat down on the cushiony lounge and looked around at the unfamiliar room. She knew that the actual exam, which included things like checking her blood pressure, had to come first but she was so excited to get to the sonogram afterwards because today was the day that they could finally find out their baby's sex. "Are you excited?" She smiled over at her husband.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited." He admitted with a laugh. How could he not be?

They both looked up when a loud knock was heard on the door and then it slowly opened, revealing a friendly middle-aged woman with a name tag that read "Dr. Cheryl Jones". "Hello, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Scott. I'm Dr. Jones."

"Hello." They both replied simultaneously.

"How are you feeling today Mrs. Scott?" The doctor asked politely as she walked over to the sink and rinsed her hands with anti-bacterial soap and water.

"I'm feeling pretty good. And you can call me Haley." She smiled back politely. "And this is my husband, Nathan." She pointed out as she motioned towards Nathan who greeted the doctor as well.

"Ok Haley. Since this is your first time here, we are going to need to take a quick history. Trust me, this won't take long. And Nathan, I'm also going to need to ask you a few questions." Doctor Jones smiled politely as she opened her laptop and keyed in a few letters. "Are either of you allergic to any medication?"

"No." They both sad at the same time.

"Do either of you have any diseases or long-term illnesses? Such as Asthma, Cancer, or Diabetes?"

At the mention of Diabetes, Haley almost laughed, but caught herself. She wasn't diabetic, but that poor waiter, Mouth, probably still though that his crazy customer had the disease. "No."

"Ok, any STDs? HIV? Aids?"

"No." They both said adamantly as if they had been insulted or something.

"Great. Do either of you smoke or are you constantly around a smoking environment?" The doctor was furiously typing away at her computer now and didn't even look up when Nathan and Haley answered no. "Ok, one last question. Are you both still sexually active?"

Nathan and Haley looked at each other and then back at the doctor. "Yes." They answered at the same time. Nathan chuckled when Haley's face turned pink. She never was the type of person who liked to share intimate details like that with other people.

"That's all I need. Now Haley, if you will lie down for me we can begin by taking your blood pressure." The doctor said as she wrapped a black cloth-like instrument around Haley's arm and squeezed the pump at the end to inflate it. "It seems to be normal." She confirmed as she unhooked the velcro and removed the device from Haley's arm. "Now I need to listen to your heartbeat."

Nathan watched Haley take deep breaths as the doctor slid her stethoscope around her back and couldn't help but chuckle when Haley squirmed as the stethoscope came into contact with her stomach. "Are you laughing at me?" Haley questioned jokingly. "It tickles!" She defended herself. "You know, I would like to see you over here with a baby in you and a tickly metal thing on you. Then maybe you wouldn't laugh."

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Nathan responded teasingly.

"Ok Haley, your heartbeat, as well as your baby's, seems very strong and healthy. Are you ready for the ultrasound?" Doctor Jones asked as she walked over to the sink and pulled smooth latex gloves over her hand.

"Yes." Haley smiled as she motioned for Nathan to come closer.

"Have you two decided if you want to find out your baby's sex?" the doctor asked as she opened a cabinet and removed a bottle of clear gel.

"Yes, we would like to know." Haley said excitedly as she grabbed Nathan's hand. He had moved his chair closer so he could see the screen better and because he knew that Haley always wanted to hold his hand during the sonograms. Not that he minded. In all reality, he liked holding her hand.

"Ok, this is going to be a little cold." She warned as she lifted Haley's loose fitting shirt to expose her slightly protruding stomach. Nathan was constantly intrigued by the fact that when her stomach was covered by her shirts, you could hardly tell she was pregnant, but when it was uncovered, it was obvious that she was expecting.

"Oh, that is cold." Haley giggled as she squeezed Nathan's hand when the cool gel came in contact with her skin. As soon as Doctor Jones put the ultrasound tool onto Haley's abdomen, a fuzzy black and white image appeared on a nearby screen and Haley and Nathan leaned in to get a better look.

"Here's your baby's head." She pointed to a white circular figure on the right-hand side and Haley instantly felt tears spring to her eyes. She almost always cried during the sonograms. Nathan wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple as he stared at the screen in awe. There was his baby. It never ceased to amaze him how he could already feel such intense love for something so small. "And here's one of the legs."

"Wow, it's grown so much since the last time we were in here." Haley smiled as she stared at her baby through the screen. It had been almost a month since her last check-up and the baby seemed to have doubled in size.

"Yes, they grow so quickly. In and out of the womb." The doctor smiled. She only ended up with a few cases every year that fascinated her, and this was one of them. These two were so young, yet so in love. That much was obvious. One thing she did see a lot of, however, was young mothers floored by the rapidness of their child's growth even before the baby was born. "Oh, and look what we have here. It looks like you two are having a healthy baby boy."

Nathan and Haley's heads both popped up to stare at each other when they heard the news and large smiles enveloped their features. "We're having a little boy." Nathan laughed.

"Oh my gosh." Tears were starting to stream down Haley's face as Nathan pulled her to him in a happy kiss. "Wow."

* * *

"Lucas, you know what? You're going to have to talk to me sometime." Brooke complained as Lucas turned the channel on the TV without even looking over at her. He really wasn't even mad at her anymore for their fight a week ago, but at the moment his pride was getting the better of him. "Ok, fine, I'll talk." She walked over to the TV and pressed the power button to turn it on. 

"Brooke, what the hell? I was watching that." Lucas grumbled. She seriously had issues sometimes. Why couldn't she just leave him to watch his TV in peace?

"Lucas, I need you to talk to me! I'm sorry for the things I said last week. I'm sorry for freaking out about getting married. But I'm not going to be sorry that I love you so damn much!"

Lucas was momentarily dumbfounded as Brooke burst into tears. What was he supposed to say in response to that? "Are you sorry that you love me?" After saying it, he realized that this was not the correct question to be asking right now.

"No, I love you but sometimes I feel like you don't love me." She whispered. She hated feeling this low, she hated that she had to be reassured of his feelings for her.

"Brooke." He groaned. "You know that I love you."

His groaning along with the statement as if she was annoying the hell out of him upset her even more as she started full on bawling. "That's what I'm talking about! If you don't want to be with me, then just go! No one's keeping you here!"

"I can't take this right now." Lucas mumbled. "I'll be back later when you are thinking rationally." He walked over to the door and just as he opened it, Nathan and Haley appeared on the other side as if they were just getting ready to knock. "Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

"We have something that we wanted to tell you." Haley started. "Is now a bad time?" She asked upon noticing his obviously flustered attitude and the way that he had jerked the door open before they had knocked. He had probably been about to leave because of a fight with Brooke.

"No, no. Come in." Lucas ushered them inside as Brooke came out of the bathroom looking much more put together. Her eyes were still a little red and puffy, but hardly noticeable. The only person who ever noticed that she had been crying when she had worked so hard to conceal it was Lucas, and he wasn't looking.

"Hey you two. Where have you been all day? It was like you dropped off the face of the planet." Brooke joked, referring to how they had been missing for a couple of hours this morning.

"We were out." Haley said vaguely as she sat down on the couch and Brooke sat next to her.

"Where's Peyton?" Nathan asked as he sat down on the other side of Haley. "We were hoping to tell you all together."

"Who cares where she is!" Brooke said dramatically. "What is it you have to tell us? Spill right now!" She commanded. She really didn't like suspense like this.

"I think she's out by the pool." Lucas offered as he stared at them. He was assuming that whatever they had to tell was good by the way that Haley was all smiley and giggly. One thing was for sure, it couldn't possibly shock him more than the news of Haley's pregnancy.

"Ok, I'm going to go call her and get Tim." Nathan decided as he stood up. "Can I trust you not to tell them?" He joked as he looked back at Haley.

"Yes." She stated firmly before laughing. "I think."

"Good. I'll be right back." He assured them before exiting the condo.

"Are you guys going to tell me what you were fighting about or am I just going to have to guess?" Haley asked seriously as she stared her two best friends down. It was apparent that they had been fighting, but she hadn't the slightest idea what it could be about this time. Come to think of it, she didn't really understand what it was about the first time.

"Haley, we weren't fighting about anything." Brooke said with a fake smile. "Except the fact that he won't talk to me anymore."

"Oh please. I talk to you plenty." Lucas defended himself.

"Not lately. In fact, I think that the last time you did something nice for me was when you scared that creepy Nick guy away a week ago. Do you hear what I'm saying? A week, Lucas!"

"Yeah right, I've done plenty of nice things for you since that Nick bastard hit on you."

"Speaking of Nick," Haley interjected before World War III started. "Lucas, did Nathan talk to you yet?"

"About what?" Lucas grumbled as he stared daggers at Brooke and she returned the icy glare.

"Last week he heard Nick and Nicki talking about drugs." She replied simply as if people talk about their drugs all the time.

"What?" Lucas and Brooke asked incredulously at the same time. It was one thing to suspect that someone was on drugs, but another to actually know it as a fact.

"He told me that he was going to talk to you about it when he got a chance. Something that he heard must have really freaked him out though because he told me to stay away from them." Haley still wasn't sure what that was about. It's not like she had never been around someone who used marijuana. In all honesty, she was less than thrilled about being asked to avoid the neighbors and not being given a real reason.

"Why would he ask you to stay away from them?" Brooke wondered aloud. "I mean, it's not like they're murderers and are planning on killing you or something." She laughed as Lucas's head shot up.

"Does Nathan think that they're murderers?" He asked seriously. He had his own suspicions about those Chavez's, the thought of Nick being some kind of criminal had definitely crossed his mind once or twice, and if that's what Nathan thought too then maybe it was worth looking into.

"No." Haley almost laughed. ""Maybe rapists or something, but not murderers." She joked. Lucas didn't find it funny, in fact, he found it less than funny.

"Seriously, Haley, stay away from them. You too Brooke." He commanded.

"Oh, so you care now?" Brooke taunted.

"Don't give me that, Brooke. You know I care about you." Lucas scoffed as Nathan reentered the condo with both Tim and Peyton in tow. "Nathan, please tell Brooke that I love her." He pleaded.

"What exactly went on in here while I was gone?" Nathan laughed at Lucas's absurd request and took a seat on the couch next to Haley again.

"They were arguing about their communication issues and then you came in just as they were about to argue about Lucas not caring about Brooke." Haley stated matter-of-factly as Lucas and Brooke huffed and stared in the opposite direction of each other.

"What started said arguments?" Peyton asked, interested to hear the details. She lived with them but was never once able to figure out what their fights were about or how they started.

"Well, the first one started because I asked, and the second one started because Lucas told me and Brooke to stay away from Nick the neighbor and Brooke thinks that he only cares about her sometimes." Haley summed up as she laid her head on Nathan's chest. All this arguing was making her tired.

"Did you tell them about Nick the neighbor's drug habit?" Nathan asked his wife and she nodded her head. "Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that Luke."

"Do you think he's a murderer, or a rapist?" Lucas questioned.

"Neither." Nathan said as his eyebrows furrowed. He really hadn't thought about the fact that Nick could be a murderer or a rapist, and he really didn't think that was the case. "I think he's a junkie, but I also think that-" He cut himself short, deciding that he didn't want to voice his concerns with everyone around. It would be better if he talked with Lucas one on one so he didn't worry Haley, Brooke, or Peyton. Or Tim for that matter. "That Nicki has one too." He finished.

"Nicki had a drug problem right after Jenny was born." Peyton added in. "She was clean when she moved back here, at least according to Jake, but maybe she relapsed."

"Either way, I think that we should all just avoid them." Lucas concluded as Nathan nodded his head in agreement. Haley wasn't so sure about that. Why should she avoid two people that she didn't even know just because they used marijuana every now and then? Maybe they were really good people who made bad choices.

"So, did you guys have something to tell us?" Tim asked impatiently from the doorway. "Because my game is paused so…"

"Yeah, we wanted to tell you all something." Nathan confirmed as he looked to Haley as if to tell her that she could have the honor of telling them.

"Um, we're having a baby boy." Haley smiled after catching his drift. She was still a little preoccupied with the way he had faltered durning his statement about Nick and Nicki. Was he hiding something?

"Oh my God!" Brooke squealed as she jumped out of her chair and engulfed Haley in a hug. This was the best piece of news she had heard all day.

"That's great you guys." Lucas smiled as he shared a man hug with his brother.

"Congratulations." Peyton beamed as she joined Brooke in hugging Haley.

"That's it? You could have just told me that at home." Tim grumbled as he left the condo and Nathan watched him amusedly. Tim was definitely different in the way that he valued his time with his new Playstation more than his time with his friends.

"That's where we were this morning." Haley clarified as she took a step away from her friends and into Nathan's side. "Which reminds me that neither of us has eaten lunch yet so we're going to go home…But do you all want to meet at the pool later? Maybe we can order a pizza down there?" She suggested as she pulled Nathan to the door.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Lucas laughed as she closed the door behind her. That was weird. Either Haley was horny or Nathan was about to get yelled at for something, and he sincerely hoped it was the latter.

"Ok, is there a reason that we just left? We stopped for lunch on the way home." Nathan chuckled as he wondered what this was all about. One look into her eyes and he could tell that she was both mad and upset about something. "What's wrong?"

"Nathan, I want you to tell me why you want me to stay away from Nick the neighbor." She stated firmly. She had been thinking about the way he stopped mid-sentence and then restarted as he described what he knew about the Chavez's. He was obviously not telling her something.

"I already did." He answered evenly, hoping to God that she couldn't see through that lie. He really wasn't too worried about her being around someone who took drugs, he knew that Peyton used to do Coke every now and then in high school, but what he did mind was her hanging around someone with a "job". Whatever the Chavez's job was, and he really wanted to believe that it was the cleaning job but somehow he just couldn't, it could not be a good thing and he really didn't want her around them until he knew what was going on.

"Nathan Scott, stop lying to me." She scolded. It was always obvious when he wasn't telling the complete truth, at least to her.

"I'm not lying." He lied again. He really didn't want to dump his suspicions on her and make her worry. For all he knew, their job was about building an orphanage, but until her knew for sure what the hell they were talking about, he didn't want her near them.

"I need a reason, Nathan. Yours isn't good enough." She stated definitively. "And I know that them using drugs is not the only reason that you want me away from them. All I'm asking is that you tell me the real reason." At this point, Haley was beyond frustrated. Why wouldn't he just tell her?

"There is no other reason." Nathan stated firmly as his temper started to rise a little bit. She was being so persistent about this and he couldn't help but wonder why. Sure, his reason sucked, but shouldn't she just trust him?

"There's not?" She questioned, giving him one last chance to tell her.

"No." He said with a sigh. He wanted to tell her, but he knew that she would start to get all paranoid when she was around Nick, and that was something that couldn't happen. If Nick was in fact doing something bad or illegal, than Haley acting weird around him would definitely send up some red flags.

"Well, then I have no reason to stay away from them." She said menacingly. All she wanted was for him to open up and tell her what was going on. "In fact, I think it's time I had a chat with the neighbors to, you know, get to know them better." She knew she was walking on thin ice and really testing his limits, but she wanted him to trust her enough to tell her what else he had heard. Was that too much to ask?

"Haley, don't." Nathan warned as she turned around and headed for the stairs. He felt like hitting something or throwing something. She was being so difficult. Why couldn't she just do what he asked for once? When he looked up, she was gone. "Haley?" He called out, knowing that she was probably downstairs 'getting to know the neighbors' already.

Haley was extremely angry when she arrived at the door of condo 6. She didn't want to talk to Nick or Nicki, they both kind of freaked her out, but she wanted to prove a point to Nathan that unless he opened up and gave her a real reason to stay away from them, she should be able to associate with them as she pleased. The door opened after just two knocks and she was met by the large body of Nick Chavez. She immediately came to the conclusion that this was a bad idea and that she should have thought of a better way to prove her point.

"You're Haley, right? From upstairs?" He smiled, exposing his crooked yellow teeth that made her want to gag. There was something very unsettling about the way he was looking at her.

"Yeah, I actually knocked on the wrong door. My bad." She smiled politely as she turned to leave.

"Wait, I don't mind." He chuckled as he grabbed her by the arm. "We really haven't gotten the chance to talk much. Do you want to come in for a drink?"

"No, thank you. I have somewhere to be…" She looked towards the stairs, praying that Nathan would finally decide to come down and get her, while trying to ignore the way his hand was firmly placed on her arm and making her extremely nervous.

"No, come on. You can cancel your plans." He prodded as he pulled her through the door. "Nicki should be home soon. This will give us time to really get to know each other." Before she could protest, he sat her down in one of the kitchen chairs and locked the front door…


	15. Chapter 15

Wow, I adore you all for your reviews. Honestly I do, they mean so much to me. I really love hearing how much you all enjoy the story. They are the reason that I worked so hard to get this chapter up tonight. And let me just say that the next chapter is also finished and it is the longest one yet ;-) Anyway, keep it up and enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 15**

Haley thought her heart had stopped when she saw Nick lock the door. This was like every single horror movie she had ever seen with Nathan. _Nathan_. Why hadn't she just listened to him? She felt like crying as she thought about how mean she had been to him just moments before, she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even come down to get her. "Wh-…why did you lock the door?" She managed to ask.

"Oh, um, like I said, Nicki is going to be home any minute and she just got a new key. I told her I'd lock it so that she can make sure her key works." He explained with a smile. This was the perfect opportunity for him to send a message to Nathan Scott. If Nicki was right and this girl really was his weakness, then Nathan would surely respond to it. If the kid knew anything, he would see this as a threat to back off, if he didn't, then he would only see it as some type of misunderstanding or weird encounter. Either way it was win/win.

"I really do need to go." She whispered as she tried to stand up. She bit on her lip to keep from crying when Nick pushed her back down into her seat. Why didn't she have her phone with her? Why wasn't Nathan here yet? Why did she come down here in the first place?

"You just got here." He smiled. "I'm not going to let you leave without a drink. What kind of gentleman would that make me?"

"I'm not really in the mood for a drink." She tried. "But maybe some other time?" It was at this point that she actually got a chance to look at the condo she was in because he had taken a small step back. It looked normal upon first glance, but upon further inspection, it was obvious that there were some out of place items. For one, she saw a large wad of cash just sitting on the kitchen counter. Next, she noticed what seemed to be diagrams or charts of the layout of the building on the table behind her. Lastly, she almost started to hyperventilate when she saw a pocketknife sitting on top of the TV. She had to get out of there.

After noticing that Haley was no longer in his sight, Nathan had taken a few minutes to calm down before advancing downstairs himself to go get her. He had figured that she would still be chatting away with Nick or Nicki in their doorway and was alarmed to see the hallway completely empty when he reached the second floor. Where the hell was she?

A sudden wave of panic hit him as he realized that he didn't know where she was and that as far as he knew, the last person she had been with was Nick. He quickly made his way to the door of condo number 6 and leaned close to see if he could hear anyone inside. His heart raced when he heard Haley's voice from inside, but almost stopped when he heard Nick in there with her. What were they saying? She said something about not being in the mood for a drink.

Most people would have assumed that Nick had offered her a drink as a friendly gesture, but Nathan knew better after hearing the terrified tone of his wife's voice. What did that son of a bitch do to her? He instinctively reached for the handle and froze in panic when he found it locked. Why the hell would Nick lock the damn door? "Nick! Open the door!" Nathan called as he beat on the door with his fist.

Haley's head popped up when she heard Nathan's voice. He was here! "Nathan?" She called, just to make sure that her mind was not playing tricks on her.

"Haley, open the door." Nathan commanded as he felt a small weight lifted from his shoulders in hearing her speak to him.

"Nathan, we're actually in the middle of something, so-" Nick started before Nathan angrily interrupted him from the other side of the doorway. He hadn't expected Nathan so soon, it had only been a minute or two, but you don't get to be a good con artist without knowing how to improvise, so he adjusted his plan a little.

"Nick, if you don't open this damn door right now you asshole I wear to God I'll beat the shit out of you." Nathan was furious at this moment. If Nick didn't open the door, he was pretty sure that he would end up breaking it down.

"It's ok, Nick." Haley said in a shaky voice. "We can do this again some other time." That was a big fat lie. Nick was scaring the hell out of her and she would never again allow herself to be alone and in the same room as him.

"I'll hold you to that." He winked as he walked over to the door and easily unlocked it. "Nathan, you really need to watch your foul language." He taunted as Nathan tried his hardest to resist the urge to punch the bastard in the face.

"Shut up." Nathan shot back at him as Haley walked out of the condo and safely behind Nathan, almost shaking because she was so scared. "Asshole." He muttered as Nick shut the door in their faces and he grabbed Haley's hand to lead her to the safety of the third floor.

Nick smiled deviously from the other side when he realized two things. One, Haley Scott was definitely Nathan Scott's weakness, and two, if the need arose, he would know exactly how to get Nathan to cooperate. As long as he and Nicki were careful though, there should be no need to bring anyone with the last name 'Scott' into it.

As soon as they reached the top of the steps, Haley broke down. "Hey baby, it's ok." Nathan soothed as he pulled her close to him.

"I'm so sorry. I should have trusted you. I…he was…I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

As he ran his hand through her hair and let her tears of fear soak into his shirt, all Nathan wanted to do was go back downstairs and kill the son of a bitch. "It's ok, baby. Can you tell me what he did? Did he hurt you?"

Haley only managed to shake her head. That had been one of the scariest moments in her life. The whole time she was inside of that condo, her future, as well as the future of her little boy, seemed to be up in the air. She didn't know if he planned on killing her, raping her, or if he actually did just want to talk. "No, he…I don't even know what he was going to do." She said as she calmed down a little bit.

"God Haley." Nathan cursed. "Now will you please stay away from him?" He begged. He never wanted to feel the way he felt on the other side of that door again. She nodded her head into his chest. She should have trusted him on this in the first place. "Come on, let's go inside."

He led her into their condo and Haley sat down on the couch next to Tim, trying to decide what exactly had happened in condo 6. Technically, Nick hadn't done anything wrong, but everything he did sent up red flags in her mind. He locked the door…he offered her a drink, and she knew as well as anyone not to accept drinks from strangers thanks to Chris…he had a knife…no one else was home…

"What's wrong with you?" Tim asked, not really showing much concern in his voice as he continued to press the buttons on the Playstation controller. He was one level away from breaking his all time record!

Haley didn't answer him, but instead got up and walked into the bathroom in search of a tissue to wipe away the tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. "Nick Chavez just scared the shit out of her." Nathan mumbled as sat down on the couch where Haley had just gotten up from.

"How'd he do that? Did he grunt in her face? I saw him do that to Chris. It was freakin hilarious." Tim laughed but quickly stopped when he noticed Nathan give him a very stern look as if to tell him that this wasn't funny.

"He locked her in his condo. She hasn't told me if he did anything to her, but all I know is that whatever it was almost scared her to death. When he finally let her out, she was white as a ghost." Talking about it made Nathan's anger rise all over again. Even if Nick hadn't planned on do anything to her and was just being nice by offering her a drink, he still had no business locking girls in his condo. Especially his girl.

"Whoa, craziness." Tim mumbled nonchalantly as Haley reentered the room and sat on Nathan's lap, laying her head on his chest. His arms instinctively wrapped around her waist as he dropped a soothing kiss on her forehead.

"Hales, can you tell me what happened?" He whispered.

"I'll tell you if you tell me why you didn't want me going there in the first place." She whispered back in a shaky voice. There are so many bad ways that the situation downstairs could have turned out that she was still a little traumatized by it.

"Are you going to go back down there if I don't tell you?" He asked playfully before receiving a light pinch in the side. "Fine, I heard them talking about some kind of job that they had to do, and it didn't sound like a job cleaning."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" She asked indignantly. Why wouldn't he just tell her and prevent her from going down there?

"Because, it's just a feeling that they're up to something, I don't know any of that for sure, and I didn't want to worry you." He answered, mentally kicking himself for being too stubborn to tell her before she went to the Chavez's condo. In trying to protect her, he was the reason that she could have been really hurt. All she wanted was for him to be honest.

Haley looked up to study his face to make sure he was telling the truth and decided that he was. "Not wanting me to worry is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." She smiled slightly. "Promise that you'll tell me stuff from now on even if it will make me worry?"

"I don't know, Haley." Nathan didn't want to make a promise like that. As far as he was concerned, not telling her was a good idea that backfired.

"Please?" She pulled out her puppy dog eyes. She didn't want him to protect her like that, she wanted him to trust her enough to tell her.

Nathan took one look at her large brown eyes and caved. _Damn her adorable eyes…"_Fine, I'll tell you next time I think that the neighbors are criminals."

"That's all I ask." She smiled as she looked up to leave a kiss on his lips. When he gave her a look to remind her that it was her turn, she shuddered a little. "Ok, I don't really don't know what was going on in there."

"Did he do anything to you?" Nathan asked carefully, praying that her answer was no.

"Well, no…all he really did was push me into a chair a few times." She shrugged as her brow furrowed and she tried to remember what specifically had happened.

"He pushed you?" Nathan asked angrily, ready to march back down there and give the jerk a piece of his mind.

"No." Haley corrected quickly. "It was more like he held me in the chair."

"Bastard." Nathan mumbled as he started to draw circles on Haley's lower back, something he always ended up doing when she was in his arms.

"I think the scariest part was just his condo." Haley admitted as Nathan gave her a curious look.

"Damn it!" Tim yelled as he threw his controller across the room. "Damn those fire benders! I was one level away from beating my Avatar game!" He shouted as he stormed into his room and slammed the door.

"Ignore him." Nathan said to Haley who had a smile on her face from Tim's little outburst. Tim's freaking out over a video game help to lighten the mood tremendously and made her feel a little more calm about what had just happened. "What about the condo?"

"I don't know. There was a big wad of money and he had blueprints of the whole building." She said apprehensively as if trying to piece it all together in her mind. "And there was a pocket knife on top of his TV."

Nathan suddenly realized how scared she must have been. Some crazy guy locks her in his condo, won't let her get up out of her seat, and has a pocket knife in plain view. "I'm so sorry, baby." He mumbled as he tightened his grip around her waist as if someone was trying to pull her off of him. "I should have just told you, or at least stopped you from going down there."

"No, it's ok. I understand why you didn't tell me." Haley said softly. "I mean, look at me. This is how hysterical I'd be if you had told me anyway." She laughed lightly before noticing how guilty he was feeling. "Nathan, it was my own fault that I went down there. I was being childish and stubborn, so don't you dare blame what happened on yourself. Besides, nothing did happen. I was only his condo for a minute or two thanks to you."

Nathan smiled a little up at her. He did feel guilty, but mostly because 'what ifs' kept running through his mind. What if he had just told her in the first place? What if he had gone after her sooner? What would have happened if he had waited longer? What if Nick was going to try something like that again? "I love you." He mumbled.

"I know. I'm so sorry for being mean to you earlier. I was just being a baby." She admitted as she rested her forehead against his.

"I'm sorry too, I should have just told you." Nathan said as he looked deeply into her large brown eyes.

"I forgive you." She smiled. "And I love you too." She added as Nathan tilted his head towards her and enveloped her lips with his own, slowly teasing them as her arms wrapped tightly around the back of his neck.

* * *

"Lucas, I need to talk to you." Nathan said in a low voice after his brother opened the door that he had just knocked on. 

"Can this wait?" I'm kind-of in the middle of something." Lucas mumbled as he looked over his shoulder at Brooke. Nathan had better have something extremely important to say because he was in the middle of an actual conversation with Brooke. No yelling involved whatsoever.

"Would I have come over here if it could?" Nathan grumbled. Did Lucas think that he came over here to talk to him for fun?

"Ok, fine. Hold on a second." Lucas said, less than happy about the timing of this. "Brooke, I'll be right back. I promise." He called over his shoulder to Brooke before stepping out into the hallway with Nathan and closing the door behind him. "What's this about?"

"Haley. Well, Nick." Nathan clarified. "After we left your condo earlier we had a fight."

"You and Nick?" Lucas asked jokingly.

"No, dumbass, me and Haley. This isn't funny so stop joking about it." Nathan spat back bitterly. He didn't have time for Lucas's lame attempt at being funny and he definitely wasn't in the mood for them.

"Fine, God." Lucas sulked. "You were saying?"

"Haley and I got into a fight about me not telling her the reason that I wanted her to stay away from Nick and Nicki." Nathan repeated.

"Why didn't you just tell her?"

"Shut up, Lucas. I wish I had, but I didn't. I didn't want her to worry. Anyway, to make me mad, she went down to their condo and I guess she knocked on the door and Nick was the only one there." Nathan continued before Lucas interrupted him again.

"Why did you let her go down there?"

"I was mad!" Nathan defended himself. "And I did go down there, but when I got to the second floor, she wasn't in the hallway. So I went over to the door and I heard her inside with Nick. She sounded really freaked out so I tried to open the door but the jackass locked it."

"What? Where is she now?" Lucas almost yelled. He was hoping that somewhere in Nathan's story Nick ended up with a black eye.

"She fell asleep on the couch a little while ago." Nathan answered the question before going on. "I don't think he did anything besides scare her. Luke, he's up to something, I can tell."

"Like what?" Lucas seethed. He was considering going to have a word with Mr. Chavez as soon as his conversation with Nathan was over. No one scares his best friend like that.

"I don't know. Haley said she saw blueprints of the building on his table, but that could be for his cleaning job. But I think she got really scared because he had a pocketknife sitting out or something."

"He what? That bastard, I'm gonna kill him. What was he going to do?" Lucas was fuming by now. Until this point he really had no reason to suspect that Nick was a bad person, but now it seemed like everything he heard about the guy was appalling.

"We don't know. She was pretty shaken up though. I think at the time she felt like he was going to hurt her, and I don't blame her." Nathan shook his head. He needed to find out what Nick and Nicki were up to because he didn't want the people he cared about around them until he knew.

"Son of a bitch." Lucas murmured. "What should we do? Should we call the police?"

"No, he didn't do anything illegal." Nathan laughed bitterly. "Maybe we should talk to Whitey?" He suggested. "You know, to see what he knows about them and see if he would consider replacing Nick as the maintenance guy."

"That's probably a good idea. We don't want to jump the gun on this. I also think it's a good idea to keep these suspicions between us." Lucas added. He wasn't planning on telling Brooke or Peyton for fear of them both panicking.

"No, I have to tell Haley. That's how the whole thing started, remember?"

"True, but I'm not going to tell Brooke or Peyton." Lucas decided. He wasn't going to open that can of worms.

"Fine, as long as you take care of them. Make sure they stay away from Nick, and Nicki I guess." Nathan sighed. Why did drama like this seem to follow him around? And it always seemed the worst when he was in these condos. He would definitely consider going to a different beach next time…

"I will, take care of Haley too." Lucas commanded as he grabbed the doorknob and began to open the brown door.

"I will." Nathan responded as he turned to re-enter his own condo.

"What was that about?" Brooke asked as she looked up from the magazine she was reading. She was trying hard to mask the fact that she was disappointed about their first real conversation in a week being interrupted by Nathan, but wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Nick. Brooke, I need you to promise me that you're going to stay away from him. He's trouble." Lucas commanded. He needed Brooke to make the promise and put his mind at ease.

"Why? Did something happen?" Brooke asked worriedly. She could tell that Lucas had something on his mind and she could also tell that it wasn't good.

"Yeah, he um…apparently Haley went over there and he sort-of locked her in his condo with him." Lucas sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "Don't worry, she's fine. The son of a bitch didn't do anything, but Brooke, I need you to promise that you'll stay away from him."

"Yeah, yeah I promise." She said hastily. "I need to go see Haley. What exactly happened? What was he going to do?" She was making her way for the door right now. She wanted to see Haley and she wanted to see her now.

"We don't know what he was going to do. Brooke, she's sleeping now. Maybe you should go back later?" He suggested softly.

"But I want to see her now." Brooke huffed.

"I know, but Nathan said she's fine. She was a little shaken up at first, but she's fine now. Just a little exhausted." Lucas tried, knowing that no matter what he said, Brooke was still going to want to see Haley.

"That Nick guy is such a jerk! I have half a mind to stuff my purse with bricks and hit him with it!" Brooke vented. He should not be allowed to get away with something like that.

"As much as I would love to see that, I think it would be best if you just stayed away." Lucas sighed. It would be pretty funny to see his girlfriend beat the guy with her purse, but Nick was a loose cannon as far as Lucas was concerned and he definitely didn't want to see the consequences of Brooke hitting him with a brick-filled purse.

"Why?" Brooke asked innocently. "If I want to pummel him with my purse, then why can't I?"

"Because I love you too much to let you do that." Lucas confessed. There was no way he was letting her anywhere near the psycho path that was Nick Chavez.

Those words were enough to make her heart race. They were what she had been longing to hear for a very long time now. Sure, he had told her that he loved her recently, but he hadn't said it like he meant it. These words that he had just spoken were laced with emotion and to Brooke, were the sweetest words that had ever passed through his lips. "I love you Lucas."

"I know." He smiled as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry we've been fighting o much recently and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn't care about you."

"I don't want to fight anymore." Brooke said wearily as she nestled her face into his chest.

"I don't either." He said as he rested his head on top of hers. These last few weeks had been so stressful and full of arguments, that he had forgotten what they were even fighting about. All he knew was that he didn't want to lose her and he would do whatever it took to make sure that that never happened.

Brooke smiled against his shirt as she heard those words. They seemed to be on the right track to recovery now. Sure, they still had some issues to work out such as his unwillingness to commit and her desire to settle down sooner rather than later, but now she was confident that they would get through it.

Just then, the front door burst opened and Peyton stormed in and threw her purse to the ground. "Where the hell is Nicki? I'm going to beat her scrawny ass the next time I see her!" She fumed.

"Whoa, calm down." Brooke laughed, not even making an attempt to move from Lucas's embrace. "Are you sure you're not talking about Nick?"

"Nick? Why the hell would I be talking about Nick?" She asked in annoyance. She was 100 percent sure that Nicki was the one she wanted to kill right now.

"Because he locked Haley in his condo with him and practically scared her to death." Brooke said simply as she watched Peyton's eyes bulge out.

"He did what?" She asked incredulously.

"Don't worry, she's fine." Lucas clarified and saw Peyton visibly relax.

"Ok, I'll just kill them both while I'm at it." She said hotly as she grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down in an attempt to calm herself.

"Why exactly do you want to kill them both?" Brooke laughed. "Where were you anyway? You just totally disappeared after Nathan and Haley told us about little Nathan Junior."

She looked up at Brooke, trying to regain her composure before answering that question. "I went to see Jake."


	16. Chapter 16

Hello again. As always, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. I honestly don't know if I would still be motivated to write without all of you! This is the longest chapter so far, so I'm pretty proud of myself. lol. I really don't know how good it is, I think I've written better, but hopefully it's good enough for all of you. ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 16**

"I went to see Jake." Peyton stuttered.

"You what?!" Brooke screeched in excitement. This was an extremely large breakthrough. She could tell how much Peyton missed Jake and she was very excited that she seemed to be doing something good for herself for a change.

"Yeah." Peyton exhaled heavily as she closed her eyes and recalled the awkward encounter.

"_Peyton? What are you doing here?" Jake said in disbelief after opening his front door. The last person that he had expected to see was the girl who broke his heart. _

"_I um…I'm sorry to just drop by like this." She stammered as she played nervously with her hands. Last time she went to Jake's house without calling first was when the relationship had ended. "I need to talk to you about Nicki."_

_Jake was visibly surprised by her reason for visiting and also visibly stiffened. All things concerning Nicki had long ago become a sore subject. "What about her?"_

_Peyton looked around nervously before refocusing on Jake. It probably wasn't a good idea to discuss this in public. "Can I come in?"_

"_Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry." Jake mumbled as he moved out of the way and provided enough space for her to enter. Peyton brushed past him as she walked into his foyer that still held the distinct smell that she remembered. The one that could only be identified with Jake and no matter how many perfumes and detergents she tried, she could never find. "Jenny's at her friend's house now, so don't worry about mentioning something bad that Nicki obviously did."_

"_Wow, she's getting so big." Peyton marveled as she picked up a framed picture of Jake and a four-year-old Jenny. It was hard for her to sit on the sidelines and watch Jenny grow up because she loved that little girl as her own. _

"_Yeah, she's going to be starting kindergarten in the fall." Jake said proudly as he looked at the picture in her hand. "She turned 5 in May."_

"_That's great. She's so beautiful, Jake." She smiled as she set the picture back down on the table in the entryway. "So, Nicki."_

"_I guess you've figured out that she's not here anymore?" He laughed wryly. "She picked up and left about two weeks after we gave the 'family thing' a shot."_

_Peyton noticed the amount of bitterness in his voice and couldn't help but feel that some of his anger was directed at her. How could it not be? "What happened?"_

"_I don't even know." Jake said bitterly as he leaned up against the wall. "One day we're planning Jenny's 4__th__ birthday party, and then she gets some weird phone call from her psycho brother and she's gone the next."_

"_She got a call from Nick before she left?" Peyton asked in interest as she tried to pretend that the current topic of conversation, and really this entire situation, was not awkward. _

"_How did you know his name is Nick?" Jake questioned curiously. He was pretty sure that he never told her that._

"_He and Nicki moved into the condo below us, well, below Nathan and Haley." Peyton explained quickly. "Do you know what Nick said?"_

"_No…I…where's all this coming from?" He asked, as little frustrated by her incessant question asking. Nicki and her brother weren't exactly his favorite people in the world and he would rather not talk about them. His head was still reeling from the fact that the girl he had loved for the past 4 years was standing in front of him right now. _

"_I don't know." She sighed. "I just have this really bad feeling about them. I know that Nicki is on drugs and for the past few nights she has been leaving at one a.m. and getting home at three. Something tells me that she wasn't just gone for a booty call."_

"_Why were you awake to see Nicki leave at one a.m. and get back at three?" Jake asked with a smirk. It didn't surprise him at all that Nicki was back on drugs, but he had absolutely no idea as to why she would be out and about at those hours. Nor did he care. _

"_I've just been having some trouble sleeping for the past few nights." She lied. The truth was that she hadn't slept great in over a year, ever since she broke up with Jake. Recently, she had started to just sit on the balcony when she couldn't sleep and for the past couple of nights she had seen Nicki going in an out at those late hours of the night. "You have no idea why she would be sneaking out like that?"_

"_No." Jake said before uncomfortable silence developed between them. Both looked around uneasily as they tried to avoid each other's gaze. Jake was still so confused as to why Peyton was here. This visit reminded him so much of her last one, the way she came in unexpectedly, stated her purpose, and then was gone all within the blink of an eye. "Is there anything else you need?"_

"_No…I…well…just be careful Jake. I really do think Nicki is up to something and it wouldn't surprise me if that something had to do with you or Jenny." Peyton shifted awkwardly before turning to go out the door. This place felt so much like home, but yet so unwelcoming. _

"_Peyton, wait." Jake called after her as she stepped through the door. She instantly stopped, her heart racing to hear what he could possibly want. "Maybe you're right about Nicki. I have to get to work in a few minutes, but maybe we could get together and try and figure it out?" He suggested nervously. _

_Peyton turned around to face him, a small smile gracing her face. "Yeah, I'd like that."_

"Well, what did he say?" Brooke asked eagerly. This was turning out to be a very big day. She and Lucas were talking again. Haley and Nathan found out they are having a baby boy, and Peyton actually talked to Jake! If you disregard the whole Haley almost being whatever she almost was by that psycho Nick guy, this day was perfect!

"Um, we're kind-of going to have lunch together tomorrow." Peyton smiled as Brooke screamed and pulled the blond haired girl into a tight hug.

"Oh my God! This is beyond amazing! P. Sawyer, I am so happy for you! So, wait, why are you going to kill Nicki?"

"Because that Nicki bitch just left him so she could do whatever the hell she's doing with Nick." Peyton responded bitterly. "But it's ok now, I'll just kill both of them." She laughed jokingly.

Lucas watched as the girls hugged again and then promptly started to gab away as they made their way back into the bedroom that they had been sharing for the past week or two. He was happy for Peyton that she had faced her fears and talked to Jake, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't making a big enough deal out of the whole Nick situation.

Part of him felt like they had all overreacted to begin with. I mean, the guy had invited her in and offered her a drink, there was nothing wrong with that. But the whole scenario was just too strange. First of all, it had basically become obvious that Haley was pregnant, so why would Nick offer her a drink? Drink suggests alcohol. Secondly, why would he lock the door? And lastly, why did he have this really bad feeling that Nick and Nicki were hiding something, something big?

* * *

"Nathan, where were you?" Tim asked as Nathan walked through the front door. It didn't really matter to him where Nathan was, he was just being nosy. He liked to make it his business to know other people's business. 

"I had to talk to Lucas." Nathan mumbled as he made his way over to the couch where Haley was sleeping. "Has she been sleeping this whole time?"

"Yeah." Tim answered as if Nathan was a moron. "You were only gone for like five minutes."

"I'm impressed, Tim. You managed to go five whole minutes without waking someone up." Nathan teased as Tim scowled.

"I can go five minutes without waking someone up!" He yelled in his own defense, causing Haley to stir.

"See." Nathan smiled antagonistically as he pointed to Haley and she rolled over onto her side so her face was facing the back of the couch. Nathan reached over and pulled a strand of her stray hair out of her face and behind her ear. "Don't wake her up. I'm going to talk to Whitey."

"Why are you going to talk to Whitey?" Tim asked in a confused tone. Didn't Nathan hate Whitey?

"About Nick." Nathan replied shortly as he stood up and grabbed his key off the kitchen counter. "Lock the door when I leave." He commanded as he made his way towards the door.

"Why?" Tim complained. "I'm not a sissy girl who can't beat Nick's ass if he comes up here." Nathan gave him a stern look that told him that he better lock the door anyway as he tried to suppress the laugh that threatened to escape. "Fine. Why can't I wake Haley up? What if I want to play my new Playstation 3?"

"Tim, she's had a long day. Just let her sleep." Nathan said in annoyance. Tim could be the stupidest person sometimes. "Besides, you play your Playstation everyday, it's not going to kill you to give it up for a couple of hours."

"How do you know?" Tim asked indignantly as if it was totally logical that he would die from Playstation depravation. "I'm playing it." He said resolutely as he walked over to the TV and pressed the power button. Tim was like an eight year old. If you tell him not to do something, he was bound to do it. As soon as the TV was on, music roared through the speakers and Tim jumped to turn it off as Haley woke up instantaneously. "My bad, I forgot that I was watching CMT music videos." He laughed nervously as Nathan shot him an aggravated glare.

"No, it's ok Tim. How long was I asleep for?" Haley asked groggily as she struggled to sit up.

"How should I know?" Tim responded indifferently as turned his Playstation on and Haley rolled her eyes.

"You were out for a good 15 minutes." Nathan answered her as he stepped away from the door and walked over to where she was sitting. "You would have had a longer nap if _someone_ wasn't such an idiot."

"Hey! I just apologized for that!" Tim said crossly as he vigorously pressed the buttons on his controller.

"Did you talk to Lucas?" Haley asked as she pulled his hand so he would sit next to her.

"Yeah, I was actually on my way down to talk to Whitey right now." He informed her as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Ok, well, I'm coming with you." She decided as she stood up. If Whitey needed to know exactly what happened with Nick, she was the only one who could tell him that.

"Fine." Nathan conceded. He wasn't going to fight her on this. Although he would much rather her stay up here and sleep or something, he didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time he tried to go against what she said.

"Let's go then. I have a craving for grape Kool-Aid but I want to get this over with before I make some." She smiled as she grabbed his hand, the same one she had just used to sit him on the couch, and dragged him out of his seat.

"I feel like my hand is going to rip off soon." He joked as they exited the condo and turned the corner, starting to descend the stairs. When they passed the second floor, Nathan protectively wrapped his arm around Haley's waist. That Nick guy was such a bastard. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked softly when they reached Whitey's office.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" She questioned.

Nathan shrugged as he opened the door to Whitey's office to find Whitey attentively staring at some type of official document on his desk. When Nathan and Haley stepped inside, Whitey basically jumped out of his seat. "Good God, Scott! Are you trying to send me to an early grave?"

"Would that work?" Nathan joked as Whitey glowered at him. Did Nathan have something to tell him or did he just come down here to rile him up?

"Come in and have a seat." Whitey sighed when he noticed Haley and how tired she looked. He also noticed the distinct growth of her stomach and figured she would be more comfortable sitting down. Nathan and Haley did as they were told and walked over to the chairs across from Whitey's desk. "What is it?"

"What's what?" Haley asked innocently. She felt a little bad for the fact that they never visited Whitey unless they needed him for something. She resolved right there that that would change. She would make Nathan agree to let Whitey go out to dinner with them one of these nights. Maybe after he got back from the game next week.

"What is it that you either want to tell me or want me to do?" Whitey smiled. It was way too easy to read these youngsters.

"We actually wanted to talk to you about Nick." Nathan spoke up as Whitey eyed him curiously.

"What about him?"

"Well, we were wondering first of all what you know about him." Haley said easily. "Like does he have a criminal record?"

"I'm sorry, Haley. I don't know. And even if I did I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to share that information with you. What I do know, however, is that the boy is a fine handyman. He has never once chopped any of my bushes in half." He smiled wickedly at Nathan who only shrugged.

"You distracted me that one time." He defended himself with a smirk.

"Like hell I did!" Whitey knew that the disfiguring of his bush 4 years ago had indeed been on purpose. "Why do you want to know about Mr. Chavez anywy?"

"Because I…he…" Haley wasn't exactly sure how to put what he did into words. "I had a little run-in with him earlier today."

"So?" Whitey questioned. Nick was a fine employee and if these two wanted to make some sort of accusation against him, then they were going to have to come right out and say it.

"He was just acting weird and he scared me a little." Haley confided as she looked down at her hands as they toyed with the rings on her left hand.

"A little?" Nathan laughed resentfully. "Hales, he scared you half to death." Thinking about it again only made his blood boil. If Nick ever tried something like that again, it was safe to say that he'd live to regret it.

"What did Nick do to scare you?" Whitey asked inquisitively. Nick seemed like a very nice boy, it was beyond him as to how such a sweet man could scare anyone.

"He kind-of pulled me into his condo and offered me a drink." Haley said sheepishly. It definitely didn't sound like he had done anything wrong at all, but something about the encounter was off. Something told her that Nick wasn't offering her a drink out if the kindness of his heart, he had to have some kind of ulterior motive.

"How is that scary?" Whitey questioned skeptically. It sounded as though Nick was just trying to be a good neighbor.

"How is it scary?" Nathan repeated in a frustrated tone. "It's scary because he locked the damn door on her and wouldn't let me in. Let's not forget the fact that he forced her to sit in a chair and that he had a pocketknife sitting in plain view on the TV."

"Is that true, Haley?" Whitey asked in disbelief. Haley only nodded her head before Whitey continued. "What do you mean he locked you in and made you sit in a chair?"

"I think that's kind of self-explanatory." Nathan responded bitterly.

"I'm asking Haley." Whitey said sternly as he looked pointedly at Nathan.

"Well, he pulled me inside and locked the door, and then when Nathan came down he wouldn't open it right away. And about the chair thing, he kind-of sat me in a chair and wouldn't let me get up." Haley explained in a soft voice. She was still trying to piece it all together. What exactly had Nick been trying to do?

"How did he not let you get up? As in, he told you to stay seated?" Whitey was confused at this moment. He couldn't decide who was right about Nick, him or them.

"No…I guess it was more like he pushed back down every time I tried to get up. But he didn't exactly _push_ me. I don't know how to describe it."

"Bastard." Nathan muttered under his breath, causing both Haley and Whitey to look up at him. "What? He is."

"Now what was this about not letting Nathan in?" Whitey didn't exactly understand what happened.

"Ok, I was inside with Nick for a few minutes and then Nathan knocked on the door and told Nick to let him in. Nick didn't do it so he told me to open the door. But since Nick wouldn't let me out of my seat, I couldn't open the door either."

"Then explain to me how you are here right now if Nick wouldn't let you out?"

Haley sighed as she began her explanation again. "He did let Nathan in after that. Well, more like he opened the door and let me out."

Whitey leaned back in his chair as he pondered this information. "So, I'm not quite clear on what you think he was up to."

"We don't know what he was trying to do." Haley answered. "But something about the whole thing just wasn't right."

"Do you think that the both of you are overreacting?" Whitey asked simply as Nathan and Haley's mouths fell to the floor. "I know Nick and he seems to be a very nice guy. Maybe you misinterpreted a friendly gesture."

"Whitey, the guy locked my wife in his condo, he has a knife, and he's on drugs. Now you're telling me that he's not a bad guy?" Nathan asked incredulously. He had thought that Whitey was smarter than that.

Before Whitey could respond to Nathan's comments, someone else entered into the office, causing all three of them to look up. Upon seeing who it was, Nathan's jaw clenched along with his fists and Haley's eyes grew wide as she quickly looked over to Nathan. "Nick, what can I do for you?" Whitey asked politely.

"I'm sorry, I see you have company. I can come back later." He said uneasily. What were Nathan and Haley doing here? Damn it. Were they telling on him? First of all, he didn't technically do anything. And second, since when did they get to be good enough friends with the old man that they would know where his office was?

"Nonsense, I actually have a question or two for you Nick." Whitey said firmly as he motioned with his eyes to the seat on the other side of Haley as if to tell Nick to sit there. Nathan noticed this and shot Whitey a pleading look. There was no way in hell that Nick was going to sit next to Haley and Whitey would expect him not to do something about it. "Take a seat over there next to Nathan." He corrected himself as he received a grateful look from both Nathan and Haley.

"Sure." Nick said politely as he sat down in the fold out chair that was positioned next to Nathan and tried to avoid the mean look he was receiving from the man at his left.

"Nick, there seems to be a little misunderstanding between you and the Scotts over here." Whitey said loudly as he stood up to start pacing. He had come to the conclusion that the whole Nick and Haley thing was just that, a misunderstanding. It couldn't be anything worse than that. People like Nick, or at least what Nathan and Haley claimed him to be, simply didn't exist anywhere but in the movies. There is never any drama here in his quiet condo complex.

"Is this about what happened earlier? With Haley?" Nick asked innocently. He decided that playing the innocent card would work the best for him at this point. Mr. Durham already thought that he was a saint for never complaining about the jobs he was given, he would surely take his side.

"Yes it is. Would you mind telling me what happened?"

Nick hadn't expected the slight hint of hostility in Mr. Durham's voice; it was almost that of someone who cared about what happened. It seemed as if Mr. Durham was already leaning towards Nathan and Haley's side of the argument and it hadn't even started yet. But why? He didn't even know Nathan and Haley. "I simply invited Haley in for a drink as all friendly neighbors do and then Nathan came by and started pounding on my door and generally making a fool of himself."

"Are you saying that Nathan and Haley were overreacting to the situation?" Whitey questioned. He personally thought that that was probably the case, but he couldn't help but be a little defensive of the two. They were practically family.

"I'd say so, yes. But don't worry guys, no hard feelings." He smiled. His plan had completely backfired. He thought that by playing a few mind games with the neighbors they would back off out of fear, but now it seemed as if he had only opened a can of worms and made them more suspicious. _Damn it, why didn't I know that something like this would happen? I should have stayed in school…_

"Overreacting my ass." Nathan mumbled as Whitey shot him a warning glance.

Whitey looked over at Haley and noticed that she hadn't looked up from her hands yet, apparently she found something about her fingernails to be very intriguing. A logical explanation for this behavior would be that she was scared of Nick…or maybe she was ashamed of herself for overreacting? No, he knew Haley well enough to know that she was fiddling with her hands because she was nervous, probably a state brought on by the presence of Nick. "Why did you lock the door?" He asked bluntly.

"Because Nicki just got a new key and I promised that I would lock the door so when she got home she could make sure it worked. Like I told Haley, I was expecting Nicki any minute, so I locked it." Nick said simply as he internally cursed himself. Now that these idiots had gotten the old man all suspicious, his job was going to be a hell of a lot harder.

"Is that true?" Whitey asked as he turned to look at Haley again.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"You know what? I think it's time for us to go." Nathan said abruptly as he stood up to leave, grabbing Haley's hand as he did so. "You're right Nick; it was all a big misunderstanding. Please accept our apology for jumping to conclusions."

"Nathan, sit your ass down. We're not done discussing this." Whitey said in annoyance. Nathan Scott was possibly the most impatient person he had ever met. He was sitting here for a total of 10 minutes and after that he no longer had any interest in the subject.

"I really need to get going too." Nick said as he stood up as well. "I just came by to tell you that I'm gonna need the next week off."

"What? Why the hell do you need a week off and why are you just now telling me this?" Whitey demanded as Haley and Nathan inched towards the exit.

"I have to visit some family in Charlotte. It's very important. Nicki is coming too." Nick answered persuasively as Whitey groaned and Nathan and Haley made it out of the door.

"Nathan, why did you do that?" Haley asked with a small smile. Not that she wasn't happy to be away from Nick, but there had to be a reason that Nathan decided it was time to leave at such a random time.

"Because Haley." He responded shortly.

"Because why?" She laughed. She really didn't like it when he played this game, the one where he avoided her questions by answering with 'because'.

"Just because." He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, knowing that he was getting on her lat nerve right now. "Because if Nick is up to something bad then the last thing we want is for him to find out what we know. We need to act normal and just lay low around him."

"This is so weird." Haley said as she looked up at him. "I feel like a spy or something."

"You'd look hot as a spy." He joked as she playfully shoved him. "But seriously, we should just avoid them until we find out what they're up to."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Haley giggled. This was actually kind-of exciting if you forget about the fact that Nick and Nicki could be dangerous.

"Let me rephrase, until _I_ find out what they're up to. You're not doing anything." He said seriously as she started to pout.

"That's not fair." She stated as if fairness actually mattered. "Why can't I help?"

"Isn't that obvious?" He teased as he pointed briefly to her stomach.

Haley sighed dramatically as she rubbed her hand across her stomach. "You better thank me for this. I'm giving up spying on the neighbors so I can be your baby mama."

"Oh, I'll thank you whenever you want." He laughed playfully as she hit him on the shoulder. "Another good thing, Nick said that he's taking the week off so he should still be gone while Tim and I are in Jacksonville."

"Oh that is good!" Haley giggled excitedly. "Now I won't have to worry about him locking me away while you're gone."

"Yup." Nathan responded with a smile while being completely serious. If he didn't know that Nick was going to be gone, he would have considered missing the game. But now that he knew that Nick was leaving for a week, he was looking foreword to his little road trip with Tim again.

* * *

"Nicki! We have a god damn problem!" Nick yelled as he stormed into the condo. 

"Great, what did you do this time?" She groaned as she stopped her channel surfing and settled on a rerun of The Adams Family.

"I didn't do anything!" He yelled back defensively, immediately knowing that he had given himself away through his tone of voice. "Nathan and Haley Scott are getting suspicious." He said quietly.

Nicki looked up at him in interest before her face twisted with anger. "Nick! You are such a freakin moron! What did you do? Leave a damn bread trail for them to follow? This job was carefully planned out and if you screwed it up then so help me God I will be the first one to tell Dad and Gramps."

"Whoa! Don't get ahead of yourself Nicki. They don't know anything, they're just suspicious. All we have to do is be more careful around them, that's all." He responded calmly. "Now, we're seeing Dad this week right? He's going to want to know what progress we've made."

"Ok, well, what are you going to tell him? We've been here for almost 2 weeks Nick and we have made no progress." Nicki said flatly. If they had done thing her way, the job would have been done on the first day. But no, Nick had to have his way…

"What did you find out about Nathan?" Nick questioned, changing the subject. Earlier he had sent Nicki away to find out everything she possibly could on Lucas and Nathan Scott and now it was time to hear what she had come up with.

"Oh! You're going to love this." Nicki smiled. "His dad, Dan Scott, is in a jail in Charlotte."

"Why the hell would I care about that? Give me something I can use to our advantage." Nick said bitterly as he pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and twisted the cap off.

"Dan went to jail for setting the boat that Nathan and Haley were on on fire." Nicki clarified as Nick looked up in interest. "When he was arrested they also found many legal documents concerning this condo complex in his possession."

"Wait, do you think he knows where…" Nick's eyes widened as she shrugged.

"He might." She smiled. This Dan Scott guy was a goldmine and she would bet her life that he was going to receive a visit from them sometime in the next week.


	17. Chapter 17

As always, first I want to thank my favorite people in the world, those of you who reviewed. If I could, I would totally send all of you flowers or something. haha. You are the reason I write, so thanks. Here's the next chapater, I hope you like!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 17**

"Promise you'll call me if you need anything?" Nathan asked seriously as he hugged his wife. It had been a week and he and Tim were getting ready to leave for the Bobcats' game in Jacksonville. "We're only going to be an hour or so away."

"Yes, I promise." Haley smiled as she kissed his arm and then looked up at him. "We'll be fine here."

"Yeah, Nathan, don't worry. I'll take good care of her." Peyton smiled as she gave him a pat on the back. Although Nick and Nicki were out of town until tomorrow night, Nathan had decided that he wasn't comfortable leaving Haley alone in the condo for a night. He had tried to find a way to just drive home after the game, but since it started so late it was impractical to drive home afterwards. So, Peyton had stepped up and offered to stay with Haley for the next 24 hours.

"Like I said, Hales, call if you need anything." He joked as Peyton smacked his shoulder playfully.

"Nathan! Come on! We need time to buy popcorn and stuff!" Tim shouted from the front seat of the Range Rover. Nathan hadn't found the time in the last 3 weeks to drive back to Tree Hill and exchange it for the Escalade, so for now they still had the Range Rover.

"I guess you need to get going." Haley smiled as she started to pull away from him, only to be held tighter by his muscular arms.

"I love you." He said sincerely as he left a loving kiss on her lips and then leant down to say something to the baby. "Hey there little guy. You be good for you mommy, ok?"

"I love you, too." Haley smiled as she pulled him back up to standing position and kissed him one last time before he turned to leave.

Peyton stared at him and tried to hold in her laughter. She had just seen Nathan Scott talking to an unborn baby. That was a very rare sight to see. "Shut up." Nathan smiled when he noticed the look on her face, the one that said she was trying her hardest not to burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Peyton defended herself as she hung her arm loosely around Haley's shoulder. She was actually relieved to be spending the night at Haley's because Lucas and Brooke had seemingly repaired the rift between them and she really hated being in the room next to theirs at night.

"Yeah, ok." Nathan laughed sarcastically as he climbed into the driver's side of the Range Rover. "I'll call you tonight and tomorrow before we leave." He promised as he started the engine.

"You'd better." Haley smiled as she walked up to the open window on the driver's side of the car and leaned in to leave a soft kiss on his waiting lips. "Drive safe."

"Nathan! Let's go!" Tim whined as he inserted a CD and the Wiggles started to blare through the speakers of the car.

"What the hell is this?" Nathan yelled over the noise of four men singing about fruit salad. There was no way he was going to drive to Jacksonville listening to this annoying crap.

"My bad, wrong CD." Tim apologized as he quickly ejected the CD and inserted a new one and Nathan shook his head. Why in God's name would Tim have a CD like that?

"You know babe, babies like the Wiggles." Haley giggled at her husband's reaction to the children style music that had just been on the radio.

"There's no way in hell I will ever let my baby listen to a couple of idiots sing about fruit salad." Nathan concluded. No, his son was going to be a rap type of kid. No Jiggles or whatever they were called. "And how did you know who sang that song?" He teased.

"Oh, come on. Everyone knows who the Wiggles are." She responded with a laugh. "Wait, you didn't know?" Nathan shook his head as Haley started laughing. It's not like listening to a group called the Wiggles was at the top of his priority list. "So you've never heard Hot Potato? Nathan! That's a classic! What, haven't you been around any children in the past 8 years?"

"They have a song called Hot Potato?" Nathan laughed as Haley stared at him, her mouth agape. "Now I know why I've never heard of them."

"I didn't know it was possible for you to not know who the Wiggles are considering I play that CD to our son about once a week." She smiled in amusement. First of all, how could he have never heard of the Wiggles? They are like, as big as Barney.

"Wait, you play that noise to our baby?" Nathan asked lightheartedly. "Haley, that's torture. And how come I never knew this?"

"Normally I end up playing it for him while you're in the shower." She explained. "And what do you mean it's torture? He likes it." She pouted as Nathan gave her an unconvinced look.

"Baby, how could anyone like to listen to a song about potatoes or salad or whatever?" He laughed.

"I do." Tim spoke up from the other side of the car. "It puts me to sleep so I listen to it every night."

"See!" Haley exclaimed excitedly.

"Unbelievable." Nathan laughed. How was it possible that he ended with a wife that was basically still a child and a best friend who was pretty much in the same spot?

"Nathan, you have to listen to that CD on the way there." Haley commanded. How did she end up with a husband who didn't know popular children's songs?

"I don't think so." He laughed, but the look on her face told her that she was being serious. "Hales, I don't want to listen to baby music." He sulked.

"But you need to. You, my brilliant husband, do not know enough about childhood and this music will help you learn." She said persuasively.

"Ok, fine, I'll listen to it." He agreed as Haley gave him a suspicious look. He never agreed to something that fast unless he was lying.

"Good." She smiled mischievously. "Then we can talk about all of the songs when you call tonight."

"Haley!" Nathan protested before being met by another serious glare from his wife. "Fine, we'll talk about the baby music on the phone tonight."

"Good boy." She praised as she leaned in to give him another kiss and he smiled in return. "Now you should probably get going if you want to make it there early enough for popcorn."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later." He smiled as he kissed her again and then she stepped back so he could pull out without running over her feet.

"Bye." Haley called after them as she and Peyton waved and Tim waved eagerly out his window.

"I can't believe you are seriously making him listen to that CD, and I also can't believe that he's going to do it." Peyton laughed. There was a time when Nathan wouldn't have listened to the Wiggles if his life depended on it.

"Yeah, that was kind-of mean, wasn't it?" Haley giggled. She wasn't exactly a fan of the music, in fact, she found it to be annoying after awhile, but she still played it through headphones to her belly every time she remembered because she knew that babies liked the upbeat yet child-friendly songs. She had only demanded that Nathan listen to it because he had never heard of them before and thought he should get to know the music now before their little boy got older and watched the TV show every day. She also wanted to see if he would actually do it.

"You do realize that he'll probably end up throwing it out of the car about halfway through the CD, don't you?" Peyton laughed again. There was no chance that Nathan would make it through the entire CD. It just simply wouldn't happen.

"Yes, I think that there is a very real chance that I will never see that CD again." Haley giggled as she and Peyton turned around to enter back into the condo complex, running into none other than Chris Keller.

"Hey girlies, what's happening?" He smiled widely as if he had said something charming.

"Not you." Peyton said seriously. Why couldn't Chris get caught in an undertow and taken to a deserted island?

"Ouch, that hurt blondie." Chris joked. "So, I see the male companions just took off. Why don't you ladies come and hang out with Chris Keller tonight?"

Haley and Peyton both burst out into laughter. Did Chris actually think that they would willingly talk to him? "I think we're going to pass." Haley smiled politely.

"Fine, be that way." Chris said indignantly as the girls started to walk around him. "You guy's will never guess what I did to Nick."

They both suddenly stopped in their tracks to hear what he had to say. Ever since the incident last week, the entire group of friends had basically tried their hardest to find out everything they could about Nick and Nicki without actually asking anyone. "What?" Peyton sighed, knowing that she was going to have to boost Chris's ego in order to find out what he supposedly did to Nick.

"He was getting on my nerves yesterday, so I punched him square in the eye. I'm sure he has a black eye now." Chris boasted.

"Are you sure you didn't hit him with a baseball bat?" Haley laughed bitterly, already knowing that Chris's story was a lie.

"Yeah I'm sure. It was pure muscle. You know what, Haley? I'm a little disappointed that you're still carrying around a grudge for that. I told you, the sun was in my eyes and I thought that Nathan's head was a baseball!" Chris defended himself as Peyton rolled her eyes. It had to be physically impossible for someone to mistake a head for a baseball.

"Sure Chris…" Haley chuckled as she and Peyton turned to leave once more.

"Wait, don't you even care that I punched Nick?" Chris asked in a bewildered voice. With the way the whole group that lived on the third floor had been obviously watching Nick for the past week, he had been sure that his story would impress them.

"You didn't punch Nick." Peyton laughed as she and Haley continued down the hallway towards the stairs.

"I did too!" He called back defensively. How dare they not believe him!

"Chris, Nick and Nicki have been in Charlotte for the past week." Haley smiled as she and Peyton burst out into hysterical laughter and Chris left with a "humph". It was funny to her how Chris had actually started to become sort-of entertaining through his annoying nature.

* * *

"So I haven't had a chance to ask you." Haley started as she tossed some popcorn into her mouth. "What happened between you and Jake on your 'date'?" 

Peyton groaned a little as she took a sip out of her glass of lemonade. She and Haley were sitting on the floor in Haley's condo later that night and they were currently in the middle of girl talk. She and Haley had invited Brooke to join them, but Brooke had decided that she was too close to getting things within her relationship back to normal to take the night off. "It was horrible. I don't think I've ever had such an awkward lunch before in my life."

"Really? That bad?" Haley asked sympathetically.

"No, worse. Every time one of us tried to start a conversation, it always led back to Nicki, or us, or school. Basically anything and everything that we didn't want to talk about." She sighed. She wanted so badly to have a second chance with Jake, but she was sure that after that disastrous date there was no way she would get it.

"I don't get it. Why would Jake ask you out if he thought it would be awkward?" Haley questioned aloud as she unconsciously rubbed her stomach through the oversized T-shirt she was wearing with her short grey shorts.

"It was probably just a spur of the moment thing." Peyton answered as she watched Haley's actions with interest. It was almost as if Haley didn't even realize that she was rubbing her belly. "And I'm sure he regrets it now."

"No, you don't know that." Haley said reassuringly, her hand coming to a rest on her somewhat enlarged stomach. "Maybe you're over exaggerating. Maybe it wasn't really that bad."

"No, it definitely was." Peyton laughed. "Haley, do you even know that you've been rubbing your stomach for the last few minutes?"

"Oh." Haley said as she realized what her hand had been doing without her knowing. She looked down and smiled. "It looks like he's already controlling me." She joked. "And he's not even born yet."

"They tend to do that." Peyton smiled brightly. "I felt the same way about Jenny."

"How is Jenny? I haven't seen her since she was just a little baby." Haley smiled.

"She's good. I haven't actually seen her, but Jake says she's doing well." Peyton said and Haley noticed what seemed to be a sad hint in her voice.

"It's ok to miss them, Peyton." Haley responded softly.

"I know, it's just…when did you know that Nathan was the one? I mean, like _the_ one?"

Peyton's question took her completely off guard. Weren't they talking about Jake? "Well, I guess it was senior year when Rachel tried to get me expelled. Remember when she painted the gym floor and then told Principal Turner that I did it?"

"Yeah, but it was so obvious that you would never paint 'You wish Nathan loved you as much as he loves me' on the gym floor." Peyton laughed. Rachel was such a bitch. A very stupid bitch.

"Yeah, well, everyone except Principal Turner." Haley giggled.

"Wait, I thought that he let you off the hook because it was just obvious that you didn't do it?" Peyton questioned. Was there something she didn't know about this age-old story?

"Not exactly." Haley confessed. "Nathan went to him and said that there was no way that I painted the floor. It was actually funny because his only proof besides the fact that I was too nice to vandalize the school was that it was painted in pink, and I hate pink."

"And Principal Turner let you off after that?" Peyton asked incredulously. She had no idea that the situation actually required Nathan's input for it to be resolved.

"No, first he told Nathan that if he was wrong and I actually did do it, then he would be suspended from basketball for the rest of the year for covering for me." Haley admitted.

"What?! I never knew this! Why didn't I know this? So what did Nathan do?" Peyton seemed to be hanging on Haley's every word; she already knew what the outcome of this story was, but she had never heard these details before.

"He still stood up for me. Of course, he didn't tell me all this, Principal Turner did when he called me in to decide if I did it or not. But that was the moment that I knew he was the one. I think it's because that was when I realized that I would have done the same for him, I realized that I would give up anything for him." Haley said softly as she refocused on Peyton's face, searching for the reason that that question had been asked.

"Wow, that's amazing, Haley." Peyton smiled sadly. "But that's how I felt about Jake, and I'm afraid that I let the one person that I'm meant to be with get away."

"Oh, no, Peyton." Haley said sympathetically as she pulled her friend into a hug. "If Jake is the one, then you guys will find a way to make it work." She said soothingly.

"I hope you're right." Peyton said as a small tear escaped from her eye and slid down her cheek. More than anything she wanted to go back in time and take back her mistake of breaking up with Jake, but she couldn't.

"I am." Haley smiled. "And I-" She stopped mid-sentence and pressed her hand against her abdomen, receiving a worried look from Peyton.

"Haley? Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Haley laughed. "Oh my gosh, he's kicking." She said excitedly. Before Peyton could do anything but smile, Haley grabbed her hand and held it over the spot on her stomach where the baby was kicking lightly from the inside.

"That's him?" Peyton questioned in amazement as she felt the small kicks of the tiny boy.

"Uh huh." Haley nodded enthusiastically. "Talk to him." She urged.

"What? I don't think-"

"Come on Peyton, he probably gets bored in there with only me and Nathan talking to him." Haley said persuasively.

"Ok, I'm really interested to know what Nathan says to him." Peyton joked.

"I think he would kill me if I told you." Haley smiled. "But he's really sweet. Now talk to him so he keeps kicking. Besides, he needs to learn his Aunt Peyton's voice."

"Well, when you put it that way." Peyton chuckled as she leaned down a little to talk to Haley's belly. "Hey there baby Scott. It's your Aunt Peyton. So, your mommy is making me talk to you-" She was stopped by Haley playfully hitting her on the shoulder before continuing. "I don't think you know how excited we all are for you to come out of there."

"But not yet, baby." Haley interjected quickly as Peyton nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, please wait a few more months. Like, how about you wait until October 10?" Peyton smiled as Haley started laughing a little and they both felt the baby kicking a little harder. "He likes me." Peyton laughed.

"Of course he does." Haley confirmed as the phone started ringing. "That must be Nathan!" She yelled excitedly as she reached for the cordless phone that was sitting on the end table by the couch. "He's gonna be so jealous."

"You're telling me. He's been looking foreword to feeling him kick for weeks." Peyton laughed.

"Hey baby." Haley said cheerfully into the phone after pressing the 'talk' button.

"Hey Hales, we won." Nathan smiled on the other end of the phone. The Bobcats had been down by at least 5 points all game and then in the last minute they came back to win it.

"That's great. So the game was good?" Haley inquired as she heard Tim yelling about something in the background.

"Yeah, it was great. Tim's still whining because before the last 5 minutes he bet some guy 100 dollars that Charlotte was going to lose." Nathan laughed.

"Aw, that's unfortunate." Haley said gently. "Tell him that I'll buy some ice cream when I go to the store to make him feel better."

"Ok." Nathan laughed. Wow, his wife and his best friend were weird. "Ok, before you ask, I did listen to the Jiggles on the way here-"

"The Wiggles." Haley corrected with a laugh. She forgot that she had made him listen to that.

"Yeah, them." Nathan chuckled. "But Haley, you have to understand, after awhile I was pulling my hair out because they were so annoying. I was afraid that I was going to wreck if I didn't change the music, so I took it out and then I accidentally broke the CD." Nathan said, not really in an apologetic voice.

"Accidentally?" Haley questioned skeptically. "How did that happen?"

"Well, I rolled down the window for air and then when I took the CD out, this gust of wind just blew it out of my hand." He replied innocently as if that was a completely logical explanation.

"Sure it did." Haley laughed. "So, you'll never guess what just happened."

"What?" Nathan asked, noticing the excitement in her voice. It must be something good.

"Your son started kicking."

"What? When?" Nathan asked excitedly, although a little disappointed at the same time.

"He started a few minutes ago. He stopped though; I think it made him tired." Haley giggled as she started to rub her stomach affectionately again and Peyton got up to refill her lemonade.

"No way, I can't believe it." Nathan laughed. "I wish I could feel it."

"Oh, I know." Haley said sympathetically. She knew that Nathan had been waiting for this for quite a while now. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to feel him kick."

"I know…put him on." He demanded playfully.

"What?" She laughed. "You want to talk to him?"

"Yeah, I have to tell him that he needs to kick tomorrow when I get home so I can feel." Nathan said resolutely as Haley laughed and lowered the phone to her abdomen. "Hey buddy, it's daddy. Mommy told me that you kicked for her, that's great. I'm so proud of you. Do you know what would make Daddy really happy? If you kicked for me tomorrow when I get home."

Haley smiled a little to herself as she heard what Nathan was saying. She loved listening to him talk to their son because he always said such sweet things. He may not have much confidence in his instincts around children, but Haley already knew that he was going to be an amazing Father. She picked the phone up and brought it back to her ear. "He definitely heard you because he's kicking again."

"Really?" Nathan smiled brightly. He really wished he was there right now with her, but he knew that he would be home soon enough.

"Yeah." Haley yawned. She hadn't realized how late it was getting until a wave of sleepiness hit her.

"You sound tired." Nathan chuckled as he switched the phone to his other ear. "I'll let you go so you can get some sleep."

"Ok, I love you." Haley smiled.

"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow." Nathan said before hanging up the phone. All he wanted to do was get to sleep so tomorrow would come sooner. He couldn't think of anything else at the moment but feeling his baby boy kick and he couldn't wait.

"You ready for bed, Hales?" Peyton questioned as Haley stood up and stretched her arms out.

"Yeah, I'm wiped out and we really didn't even do anything today." She sighed. One thing that she would not miss about being pregnant was the exhaustion she felt at almost all hours of the day. "Hopefully he'll calm down enough to let me sleep tonight."

"Oh, I'm sure he will. He's a good little boy." Peyton laughed as she finished off her lemonade and put the cup in the dishwasher. "Goodnight Haley, see you tomorrow."

"Night Peyton. Have fun in there." Haley joked. Peyton had to sleep in Tim's room which also happened to be the room she had stayed in 4 years ago. Unfortunately, the room was so messy that Peyton would be lucky to make it to the bed without falling over something.

"Oh, I will." She responded sarcastically as she entered the room and turned the light on.

Haley didn't even bother to turn on the light in her room, instead she just crawled right into the bed. It felt weird to be in this bed by herself. As she thought about it, she realized that she had never slept in this bed without Nathan. Then she remembered that she did have a little bit of Nathan with her as her hand traveled down to her stomach and rested over the spot where soft kicks from their son's feet could still be felt every now and then. Eventually, she fell into a light sleep.

A few hours later she woke up to a strange clanging noise that seemed to be coming from near the front door. "What the…?" She mumbled as she slowly came back into consciousness before an eerie silence took over. What was that? A small wave of panic started to creep through her as she strained to listen more…what could that have been? Then, a loud rumble was heard from the same place and Haley resolved that whatever it was, it wasn't good as she put on her slippers and made her way to the bedroom door…


	18. Chapter 18

Hello everyone. Thank you, as always, to the amazing people who took the time to review the last chapter. I don't know if you all understand how much I, and all writers for that matter, love hearing your thoughts and opinions. I was proud of myself because today I sat down and basically wrote out the entire Nick/Nicki storyline, so now I know exactly where that whole thing is headed where before I only had an idea. Yay me. Anyway, this is the new longest chapter :-) I know I left you with a cliffie in the last one, and I also know that what I wrote was misleading. I'm tricky like that sometimes. haha. I hope you like it and please feel free to tell me if you hated it or leave suggestions.

P.S. Don't forget OTH is on tonight!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 18**

"Wait, it blew up?" Nathan asked incredulously as he held the phone to his ear and drove the car at the same time. Was that even possible?

"What blew up?" Tim asked from the passenger seat as he nibbled on the doughnut that he had stolen from the breakfast buffet at the hotel. "Someone blew up a blimp?"

"What? Just shut up, Tim." Nathan said in an annoyed tone as he shifted the phone to the other ear so he could hear the voice on the other end more clearly.

"No, it didn't really blow up, it just stopped working." Haley clarified from the other side as she fanned herself from the heat with a makeshift paper fan. "It sounded like it blew up though." She laughed wryly.

"Ok, well, Tim and I will be home in about 45 minutes. Why don't you go hang out at Lucas's until we get home to fix it?" He suggested. He knew how miserable it must be in their condo right now, he couldn't even imagine having to sleep in that oven last night. "What time did you say it went out?"

"Um, it was probably around 2:00." She informed him as she applied sunscreen to her face. "Last time we checked, Brooke and Lucas were…um…still working on their issues, so we're going to go cool down by the pool." Haley was assuming that Brooke and Lucas had resolved their problems because of what was going on when she walked in earlier…but she wasn't sure if they had really talked about any of the bigger issues yet.

"That sounds good. How hot is it in there?"

"Well, we opened all the windows but I think it's still about 90 in here." Haley laughed dryly. It was just their luck that the air conditioner would break during the hottest weekend so far in the summer. "I'm going to tell Whitey once Peyton and I get down by the pool."

"No!" Nathan snapped, causing Haley to cringe and then laugh a little and Tim to drop his doughnut onto his shorts.

"Why not?" Haley giggled.

"Nathan! Look what you made me do!" Tim complained as he picked the no longer chocolate-covered doughnut off of his favorite basketball shorts.

"Oh, please Tim. We'll get the dumb stain out of your shorts." Nathan retorted as he put on his blinker and turned onto the expressway that would take them back to the beach. "Because, if you tell Whitey about the air conditioner, then he'll send Nick up to fix it and there's no way in hell he's coming into our condo." He said as he turned his attention back to the phone conversation.

"Dude, I don't care about the shorts. Now my doughnut is ruined!" Tim whined as he opened his window and threw the icing-less doughnut out of it. "Sorry, my bad." He waved sheepishly as a guy yelled at him for throwing a doughnut onto his car.

"Tim! Can you stop being an idiot for 5 minutes please?" Nathan pleaded. Everyone knows that if you throw something out of the window while you're driving, it's going to land on another car.

"How was I supposed to know that a doughnut with no icing on it would stick to some biker dude's windshield?" Tim asked seriously. Nathan always freaked out over the most trivial things.

"But if I don't tell Whitey, then we'll burn up in the condo." Haley said as she finished putting on her sunscreen and closed the bottle.

"No we won't, I'll fix it." Nathan decided as Haley burst out into laughter. "What? I can fix it." He declared stubbornly.

"Babe, I think it might be a better idea to just tell Whitey and ask him to send someone other than Nick." Haley giggled. Nathan had never been exactly handy when it came to fixing things like air conditioners. Sure, he could handle small jobs like messing with a fuse box, but something like fixing a broken air conditioner? No way. "Besides, I think it has more to do with the thermostat than the actual air conditioner."

"Don't tell Whitey." He commanded. "Let me look at it first."

"Ok." Haley agreed as she tried to hide her giggles and walked into the kitchen where Peyton had her head stuck in the freezer for temporary relief from the heat. "We're going to head down to the pool now, so I'll talk to you when you get back?"

"Yeah, bye, I love you."

"I love you too." Haley hung up the phone and hurriedly grabbed her pool bag off of the kitchen table. "Peyton, let's go before we melt."

"Gladly." Peyton sighed with a smile as she too grabbed her bag and headed out the door after Haley.

* * *

"Hey guys, what's up?" Brooke asked cheerfully as she joined the other two girls by the pool. "Whoa, did you two actually get in the pool?" It was practically a rule that the three of them didn't swim unless: A, no one was around to see, or B, there was a hot guy in the pool at the same time. What would possibly make them want to get into the pool and stain their perfectly conditioned hair with chlorine? 

"Yes, it was so hot." Haley explained as she ran a hand through her long damp hair. They had both gotten in as soon as they arrived just to cool off, and now their hair was almost dry again because of the intense heat from the sun.

"Haley, I know it's hot out here, but do you even realize how much shampoo you're going to need to use to get every ounce of that chlorine out of your hair?" Brooke asked seriously. Haley's hair was naturally gorgeous and Brooke hated seeing it damaged by the chlorine in the pool. It was obvious that Nick didn't know how much to put in and therefore put in too much.

"I couldn't care less." Haley laughed. "We both needed to cool down. The AC in our place went out last night." She responded as Brooke's mouth dropped open.

"Oh my God! That's terrible! Why didn't you both just come back over to our condo?" Considering how hot it had been for the past couple of days, it must have been torture staying in that condo all night.

"We tried, Brooke. But you and Lucas were…uh…busy." Peyton smirked as Brooke looked up to try and remember what they could have been doing.

"Oh!" Brooke exclaimed. "Oh, oh, oh. Sorry." She laughed nervously. "You could have just told us what happened and we would have stopped."

"Ok, enough of this conversation." Haley said with a disgusted face. "It really wasn't bad until this morning when the sun came out again."

"Yeah, but we had to suffer in there for like ever because Haley just _had_ make herself bacon and an omelet for breakfast." Peyton teased.

"Hey! I offered you one." Haley defended herself. "And it's not like I can control my cravings." She pouted.

"Aw, it's ok Tutor Girl. I like my omelets too." Brooke reassured her as she set her authentic Coach sunglasses down on a nearby table with the bags. "When's Nathan supposed to be back?"

"Um, probably in just a few minutes." She answered after looking at the time on her cell phone. Just then, she felt a small kick inside of her and smiled as she brought her hand down to softly stroke her stomach. "It seems like someone's happy that Daddy's coming home."

"What? Is he kicking? Let me feel! Please can I feel, Haley?" Brooke said excitedly. If she had been standing, she probably would have been jumping up and down.

"Yeah, give me your hand." Haley grinned as she grabbed Brooke's hand and placed it over her belly.

"Oh my God!" Brooke squealed. "Hey there baby Naley, it's your Auntie Brooke." She cooed.

"Baby Naley?" Peyton questioned with a laugh. "When did we decide that his name was going to be a combination of both of their names?"

"We didn't, I did. At least until he has a real name." Brooke clarified as she looked pointedly at Haley. "You and the hubby come up with any names yet?"

"No…" Haley trailed of as she remembered the fun they had had thinking of every name that they were not going to name their son. No "Shaq" or any basketball names for that matter. No "Mercutio" or any other weird names from a Shakespearean play. Definitely no "Chris" or "Nick".

"See, that's why he needs a nickname. And Baby Naley works perfectly." Brooke said brightly as she started talking to the baby again. "As I was saying before Aunt Peyton rudely interrupted me, I'm so going to be your favorite Auntie. I'm going to spoil you, and buy you toys, and make you some adorable little onesies, and-"

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lucas asked as he entered the pool area though the gate, cursing when his hand came in contact with the hot iron.

"Aw, Lucas, are you ok?" Brooke asked in a concerned voice as she got up and walked over to him. She was elated that they seemed to be back on the right track now. Lucas had begun to share his feelings with her more openly and she definitely felt more secure in their relationship. "Let me kiss it."

"Brooke, it didn't even get burned. It was just hot." Lucas chuckled. It was always amusing to him when Brooke overreacted about small things like this. "Oh, Haley, I saw Nathan and Tim pull in as I was walking out here so-"

"Ok, thanks!" Haley smiled as she quickly got up from her seat and made her way out to the parking lot where Nathan and Tim were surely still unloading their things. Once she arrived at the hot blacktop of the parking lot, she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when she saw Chris already standing next to them chatting away.

"So then I was all, 'Johnny, I know you're great at being a pirate, all I'm saying is I think I could do better.'" Chris was saying as Nathan ignored him.

"I don't think so." Tim laughed. "Dude, Johnny Depp is like the all-time best pirate."

"That's where you're mistaken." Chris said as if Tim was stupid, which wasn't far fetched. "I dressed up like a pirate for Halloween and you wouldn't believe how many numbers I got."

"Really? How many?" Tim asked, slightly intrigued. If someone like Chris could get a bunch of chicks' numbers by dressing like a pirate, then so could he.

"Ten, and that's was only in an hour." Tim's mouth dropped at this information as Nathan rolled his eyes. There was no way Chris got ten numbers in an hour. Why was Chris even here anyway? "And only nine of them were the number for the rejection hotline." Chris was obviously proud of himself for getting 10 numbers, when in reality he only ended up with one real one.

"Hey you." Haley smiled as she came up behind Nathan and tapped his shoulder, causing him to turn around and giving him a reason to get out of his lame conversation with Chris.

"Hey, I missed you." He said softly as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips lightly.

"I missed you too." Haley assured him as she leaned in to kiss him again. "Oh, or should I say we missed you." She laughed when she felt the pounding of tiny feet against the inside of her abdomen. "Here." She grabbed Nathan's hand and placed it on her stomach to feel.

"That's him?" Nathan asked with wide eyes as Haley shook her head. "Wow." His face suddenly lit up with excitement as he pulled her as close to him as he possibly could and kissed her. "He's such a good boy. He kicked just like Daddy told him to."

"He's actually been kicking periodically since yesterday." Haley smiled.

"Well, he kicked right now because I asked him to." Nathan concluded with a playful smile as his hand moved down to explore her growing stomach again.

"I'm sure you're right." She laughed as she placed her hand on top of his.

"Is the condo, like, 200 degrees?" Tim asked in a whiny voice. If the air conditioner was broken, then he didn't want to be anywhere near the place. But, he did want to play his Playstation 3…_damn air conditioner._ He decided that it would be worth it to just deal with the heat as long as he got to play his new American Idol game.

"No, it's not-"

"It's pretty hot up there Tim." Nathan interjected before Haley could finish her statement. "Why don't you just go hang out by the pool while Haley and I go see if we can fix whatever is wrong?"

"Fine." Tim grumbled as he walked off towards the pool, Chris following close behind as if Tim wanted him to come.

"Good, now I can have you all to myself." Nathan smirked as he leaned down to capture Haley's lips with his own once again. "Let's go upstairs."

Haley giggled as she grabbed his hand and they made their way towards the stairs together. "I'm all for alone time, but I was serious when I told you it's like 90 degrees in there." She said light-heartedly when they reached the third floor.

"We'll live." He smirked as he unlocked the door and held it open for her. As soon as he walked in, it was as if a wave of heat pummeled into his face. "Jesus Christ, you really weren't kidding."

"No." Haley giggled as his reaction. The heat really wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't what they were used to. The only way she was able to make the condo bearable was with the windows open because every now and then there would be a gust of refreshing wind to chase away the hot air for a few seconds. "So tell me about your trip." She commanded as she walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out two ice-cold water bottles.

"The game was awesome." He said as he caught the water bottle she had thrown to him. "By the time we got out and back to the hotel, we were both wiped out so we just went to bed. Then this morning we came home." He said simply as he walked over to the thermostat by the front door and just stared at it. "Sparks aren't supposed to be coming off of it, are they?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that's not normal." Haley laughed as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around us waist, resting her head on his back. "Can we please tell Whitey? The sooner we tell him the sooner we get our nice room-temperature condo back."

"Haley, I haven't even tried to fix it yet." He pointed out with a smile as he turned around and placed his hands firmly on her hips.

"I know, I just figured it would save you the trouble if we tell Whitey." She said persuasively. If Nathan tried to fix that thing, he was bound to make it worse.

"Thank you. But we're not telling Whitey, at least not yet." Nathan said resolutely as he left a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now, there are two reasons that we needed to come up here. Care to guess what they are?" He asked playfully as her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Well, to see if you can fix the air conditioner." She answered as she walked over to the couch and set her water down on the coffee table before taking a seat on the warm material of the sofa.

"No, that was just the cover reason." He smirked as he walked over to where she was sitting and kneeled down in front of her, chuckling when she raised her eyebrows at him. "The first real reason is so I can do this without anyone seeing. Lay down."

Haley laughed at his command before willingly obliging. "Does this mean that I get to take a nap?" She asked playfully.

"Sure." He laughed as he pulled the bottom half of her already dry tankini up to expose her stomach. "But only until I get to reason number two." She giggled and propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him as he started moving his sweaty palms across her baby bump. "Hey buddy, it's Daddy."

"And Mommy." Haley interrupted as Nathan gave her a funny look. "What? We always talk to him separately and I want to talk too."

"Ok, fine." He chuckled. "Mommy is here too. You're getting so big; we can't believe that you're already kicking."

"Yeah, we love it when you kick, but it would also be nice if you slept during the night for Mommy." Haley smiled as she reached her hand down to caress her stomach with Nathan's.

"I was wondering what your name is, do you think you can tell us?" Nathan said playfully as Haley stared at him. "Just kick when we say your name."

"Nathan, that's not going to work." Haley laughed. "He's probably going to kick when you say something crazy like Fabio."

"Then I won't say any crazy names." Nathan concluded as he bent down and kissed her stomach softly. "Ok, what about Nathan Junior?"

Haley laughed when there was no movement within her. "I told you he wouldn't like that."

"Fine, um, how about Alex or Tyler?" Nothing.

"William? Matthew? Joshua?" Haley tried only to be met by the calmness that she always felt when he was sleeping. "I think he's sleeping."

"Already?" Nathan asked incredulously. "He was just awake a couple of minutes ago. Let's hope he sleeps this much once he's born."

"That would be nice." Haley smiled as she ran her hand lovingly through Nathan's hair. "I missed you."

"I know, and I missed you too." He responded sweetly before placing a few more kisses on her stomach.

"It's getting really hot in here; do you want to go down by the pool?" She was enjoying her alone time with her husband, but the heat was really starting to get annoying.

"Nope, we haven't gotten to reason number two yet." He said simply as she sat up and his hand rested on her thigh.

"Well, what is this second reason?" She asked coyly. Before he could answer her, his lips were on hers in a fiery kiss. She responded instantly by parting her lips to give his tongue entrance and by wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. His hands slowly crept upward from her thighs until they were sliding under her top as their tongues intertwined causing a low moan from both of them.

Haley reached for the bottom of his shirt which was already sweaty from the heat and pulled it off over his head. His hand started to play with the elastic on the shorts she was wearing over her bathing suit bottoms as her delicate fingers came into contact with his muscular chest. "You don't waste any time, so you?" She giggled breathlessly as he lowered his mouth to her neck.

"Nope." He responded with a smiled as he kissed her lips again.

Haley grinned mischievously before placing her hand on his mouth to stop him, holding in a laugh that threatened to escape when a confused look appeared on his face. "Let's go in the bedroom." She said softly as she removed her hand and kissed his lips again.

"Fine by me." He smirked.

* * *

"Nick, you are the biggest idiot ever. Why did we wait to come here until our last night? I wanted to go clubbing!" Nicki whined as she and Nick entered the penitentiary that currently housed Dan Scott. 

"Because, Nicki. I had other things to do every other day." Nick said through gritted teeth. All his sister ever did was nag, nag, nag.

"Like what? You sat in your hotel room watching TV all day yesterday." Nicki whisper yelled as they approached the front desk.

"Hi, we're here to see Dan Scott." Nick said in a friendly voice, completely ignoring Nicki's accusation.

"One minute." The overweight attendant with a nametag that read "Kevin" said in a sleepy voice. It was getting close to closing time and Kevin was ready to go home. "How do you know Dan?"

"Uh, we are um…" Nick started, racking his brain for a logical explanation of why they would request to visit the convict.

"We're friends of his son's." Nicki finished for him as Kevin's eyebrows shot up.

"Nathan or Lucas?" He inquired. Why would some of Nathan or Lucas's friends come to visit Dan? Was something wrong with one of them?

"Uh, both." Nick replied easily as he studied the fat man. He found it intriguing that this man knew both Nathan and Lucas. He and Nicki had gotten a hold of the jail visitor records and had noticed that Nathan, Haley, and Lucas had been to the jail in the last year, but to visit a "Bobby James". Whoever that was. What was interesting about these records was that the only two times Dan Scott had ever received a visitor in the last year was when Nathan and possibly Haley had come.

"Ok." Kevin answered as he dug around on his desk for his visitor sign-in clip board. "You will both need to fill out this information before you will be allowed in to see Dan." Something wasn't right about these two, they didn't seem like the type of people that would be friends with Nathan or Lucas. Granted, he didn't know Nathan very well, and he barely knew Lucas at all, but these two seemed to be very shady characters. When you work at a prison, it becomes a lot easier to pick out the bad seeds in public.

"You heard him, fill it out Nicki." Nick said harshly as Nicki rolled her eyes and grabbed the clip board.

"So you said you're friends with the Scotts?" Kevin asked politely as he studied Nick's face which remained unnaturally emotionless.

"Yup." He answered shortly as he waited for Nicki to finish the paperwork. This fatso needed to stop asking stupid questions right about now.

"So how are they? Are they doing good?" Kevin questioned, extremely interested in the mannerisms of the man in front of him. Every time he brought up any of the Scotts it was as if the dark-haired guy would avoid the question

"Yup." Nick answered again as he let out a breath in relief when Nicki handed the clip board back to Kevin. "Can we go in now?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Kevin grumbled. Those two were possibly two of the rudest visitors he had ever checked in.

Nicki and Nick hastily made their way through the large metal door that led to the visitor area and walked over to where Dan was sitting waiting for them. "Nicki, go sit over there." Nick commanded.

"What? Why do you get to talk to him?" Nicki asked indignantly. She hated it when Nick's control freak nature came out. It was actually really unfortunate when he insisted on doing things his way when on a job because she was just naturally smarter than him.

"Because I'm in charge." He insisted as he sat down across from a puzzled looking Dan and picked up the phone. Nicki grunted in defeat as she went to sit on a bench across the room, waiting to see when he would mess this up.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Dan asked bluntly, already irritated by the guy across from him's nasty smile.

"No, I don't believe we've met. I'm Nick Chavez." Nick said politely only to be met by a cold stare from Dan that basically said 'I don't care'. "Um, I actually have a question or two for you."

"Are you a lawyer or something?" Dan asked gruffly.

"No, I'm not a lawyer." Nick assured him. "I'm staying in the same condo complex as your son."

Dan looked at Nick through narrowed eyes. He was assuming that the creep on the other side of the glass was talking about Nathan because very rarely was Lucas referred to as his son. "So, what do you want?"

"Well, like I said, I have a question or two for you." Nick repeated as Nicki rolled her eyes from her seat. Nick had terrible people skills. "So, when you were arrested, you had certain documents in your possession. Like financial records from the condo complex owned by Brian Durham."

"Yeah, so." Dan stated as he looked around bored. If this Nick guy insisted on wasting his time, then he might as well make his feelings perfectly clear.

"Can I ask why you had them?" Nicki rolled her eyes once again. Nick was so stupid! Why would he ask a dumb question like that? They didn't need to know why Dan had the papers, they just needed to know what was _on_ the papers.

"You seem to have access to police records since you knew that much, so why don't you look that up yourself? Or didn't the men in uniform have on file that I did research to find out the best way to get rid of my son's girlf- I mean _wife_?" Dan asked bitterly. He was only in jail because of Haley. If that girl would have minded her own business in the first place, then he wouldn't have felt the need to protect his son and he wouldn't be in jail right now.

"So that's why you had them? Because you were looking for the most effective way to kill Haley?" Nick asked seriously.

"Kill? Who said anything about killing her? I didn't want to go to jail for murder." Dan rolled his eyes. There seemed to be a lot of eye rolling that day directed at Nick. "Look what good that aspiration got me." He mumbled resentfully. He had never wanted to kill Haley; he had just wanted to scare her away so she would leave his son alone. He almost wished he had found a _different_ way to get rid of her because now Nathan was trapped in this marriage by the tramp's kid and if he ever did try to dispose of the girl, Nathan would surely hate him.

"Mr. Scott, can you tell me what was on the papers?" Nick asked as he lowered his voice and leaned in a little bit.

"My pleasure." Dan smiled. "There were a lot of numbers."

Nick scowled at Dan's sense of humor. It was obvious that the older man was not taking this visit seriously. "Ok, I was looking more along the lines of building codes or renovation orders."

Dan suddenly stopped smiling and studied Nick. "There were some of those."

"What were they for? And when?" Nick asked, trying to contain his growing excitement. They seemed to be getting closer to what they were looking for. Dan looked at Nick as if he were crazy; did the guy really expect him to remember that sort of thing? "If you don't remember, that's ok."

"Oh, I remember." Dan smiled to himself. Just because he did remember didn't mean that Nick should have _assumed_ that he did. "But I'm trying to figure out if I should trust you. Why do you need to know all of this?"

"Well, because my sister and I are um…looking for something and we were hoping that you would be able to give us some useful information about where it might be." Nick said uneasily. That was the closest that either he or Nicki had ever come to actually saying their plan out loud to anyone but each other. It was probably risky to spill all of this to the father of the two men living on the third floor, but as far as Nick could tell, neither Scott brother had a good relationship with Dan.

"How is he?" Dan asked suddenly, taking Nick of guard.

"Who?"

"My son?" This was a question that Dan had specifically designed to help him get more information about this Nick Chavez guy. If his answer was about Lucas, then he would know that his intentions were probably trustworthy because Lucas didn't associate with Dan and would never waste his time trying to get him in more trouble. However, if Nick's answer was about Nathan, then it could be assumed that Nick's purpose was to either make Dan's life miserable or find a way to keep him from his own son.

"Oh, um, Nathan's fine." Nick said shortly. "He and Haley actually both told me to tell you hi." Nicki had to keep from slapping her head at what Nick had added at the end. Wasn't it obvious that Nathan and Haley had a bad relationship with Dan? Hence the reason he was locked up.

Dan looked at Nick curiously. Nick was not a friend or Nathan's, but apparently not a friend of Lucas's either. Any friend of Nathan's would know that they were not on speaking terms right now, and any friend of Lucas's would have just said so. "Who are you? Because you sure as hell aren't a friend of my son's."

Nick sighed. He really needed to know what Dan knew and if the only way that would happen was by telling him everything, then that's what he was going to do. "Fine, I'm not friends with Nathan or Lucas, but my sister and I do live below them. Like I said, we're looking for something in the condos and we were hoping that you could help us find it."

"What's in it for me?" Dan asked seriously. If there was one thing he had learned during his lifetime, it was that if you have something that someone else wants, you can get a large profit from the situation.

"Well, uh…" Nick stuttered. Why would Dan think that he would get something in return? He was in jail for God's sake. There was no way they could give him money or something along those lines.

"We'll finish what you started four years ago." Nicki spoke up as she came up behind Nick to save the day, yet again. She grabbed the phone from his hand and held it up to her own ear.

"Really? And what exactly is that?" Dan smiled menacingly.

"We'll get your daughter-in-law away from your son."


	19. Chapter 19

Hey guys, I'm so sorry this one is a little late, I feel bad :-( but it's here now, so... Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are awesome! I don't want to keep you from reading and possibly make you hate me more, so here's chapeter 19!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 19**

"We'll get your daughter-in-law away from your son." Nicki assured him with a smug smile. She knew that this offer was too good for him to resist.

"Well, that is a very interesting proposition young lady." Dan smirked as Nick fumed in his seat. Nicki always had to take the spotlight. "Just how do you plan on doing this?"

"Well, didn't you already say that you didn't want her killed? Sorry, I couldn't hear very well from my seat across the room." Nicki said sweetly as she looked pointedly at Nick who sunk lower in his chair.

"Yes, that should be avoided if at all possible. I think that would only open a can of worms where my son is concerned. He tends to lash out when you take things from him." Dan said easily as he remembered when Nathan was 5 years old and he had taken a basketball from him. The boy started wailing and screaming at the top of his lungs and then when he had picked him up to apologize, Nathan had bitten him. He sure knew how to hold grudges.

"Fine, then we'll just plant a few seeds in their minds and if worse comes to worse, we'll drive them apart." Nicki shrugged.

"Drive them apart?" Dan asked curiously. "I've tried that, it doesn't work."

"We'll think of something." Nicki assured him. "But this is only in exchange for the information."

"Of course, you have yourself a deal." Dan smiled. This was the ideal situation. He could save his son from that home wrecker while being completely innocent. "So, what exactly do you need to know?"

"We're especially interested in any renovations that occurred about 15 to 20 years ago. Things that haven't been changed since then." Nicki said in a low voice.

Dan looked at her for a moment before racking his brain for anything he could remember that would help her and her brother out. "I do remember something about renovations on the third floor."

"Really? Do you remember where exactly or what these renovations were on?" Nicki prodded hopefully.

"I know that it was 20 years ago, when Brian Durham first bought the complex, and I know it was on the third floor." He said. "The papers didn't say what it was on or in which condo, but since then there have been no major renovations. Just the usual redecorating."

"Were these renovations large scale? Or small enough to create a hiding place for something? Maybe a safe?" Nicki asked, hoping that she hadn't given too much away about what they were looking for.

Dan looked at the dark-haired girl for a few moments before answering. So whatever these two were searching for was valuable, at least valuable enough to be kept in a safe. "It wasn't large scale, but it wasn't small enough to have been made only for a safe. It was a bunch of small modernizing jobs strung together."

"Thank you Mr. Scott. You've helped us out considerably." Nicki smiled. "We'll be in contact." With that, she hung up the phone. The information he had just given them was all they needed and she knew that he really didn't have any other information to offer. She yanked Nick out of his chair so he would follow her out as Dan watched them curiously. Something was off about them, but he didn't care as long as they took care of Nathan's problem for him.

"Nicki, why the hell did you agree to do that?" Nick said gruffly as they exited the visitors' room and passed by the fat attendant again.

"Relax, Nick." She responded easily as they made their way through the lobby and out the front door into the warm evening air. "Just get into the car and I'll explain while we're driving."

"No, you'll explain now." Nick demanded as opened the car door and climbed in, Nicki doing the same. "In case you forgot, Nathan and Haley are actually in love. Good luck with trying to get them apart. And let's also factor in the little detail about our _job, _which is what you should be focusing on." He said bitterly. She had clearly not been thinking when she made her little deal with Dan.

"Nick, you are so stupid." Nicki sighed as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. "We're not going to break them apart. I mean, unless we get bored or something."

"But you just told Dan that you would finish what he started." Nick pointed out as if he had been the only one to hear her words towards the oldest Scott.

"Nick, he's in jail. What's he going to do if we don't follow through? Oh yeah, nothing." Nicki replied crossly. Must she be the brains behind every operation? "If you want, we can find some way to break them up. I mean, if it will soothe your conscience." She taunted.

"Shut up." He grumbled. He really hated it when she did smart things because it made him look really bad. "I just think that the man was nice enough to share what he knows with us so we should try to uphold out end of the bargain. That's what Dad always says about good business."

"Fine, then once we're finished here, we'll just kill them." Nicki concluded with a sinister smile.

"But you told him that you weren't going to kill her." Nick pointed out yet again. It really got on his nerves the way Nicki never honored her word. She was never going to get far in the business if no one trusted her.

"No, he just said it should be avoided if possible. He never said that I can't." She replied triumphantly. Of course, she would have to end up killing both of them, because if she left Nathan alive, then he would be able to identify them easily and he would certainly come after them.

"Good thinking little sister. You know what? I was always proud of you for graduating from high school. I think that was a good move on your part." Nick smiled proudly. He hated it when Nicki one-upped him, but he had to give credit where credit was due, she was pretty damn smart.

* * *

"My back is killing me." Tim complained in a groggy tone as he woke up the next morning in a sleeping bag on the floor. "Whoa, where the hell am I?"

"Morning Tim." Haley chirped from the kitchen as she stuffed a bagel with cream cheese on top into her mouth. "Did you sleep good?"

"No." He replied flatly as he remembered why he was sleeping on an unfamiliar floor. Nathan had been unable to fix the air conditioner yesterday so they had all slept in condo 9 last night. Tim slowly raised himself up into a sitting position as he looked around for a clock. "What time is it?" He wondered aloud.

"Well, it's a little after eight." Haley replied through a full mouth after glancing back at the clock on the stove behind her.

"Oh my God. Why the hell am I awake this early?" He grumbled as he laid back down in his Disney princess sleeping bag. Haley watched the scene and couldn't help but giggle a little. Brooke had been the only one in the group to bring a sleeping bag and unfortunately her sleeping bag was from when she was in the 4th grade.

Next Haley's eyes traveled to the pull out couch were her husband was sprawled out under the sheets. She had always been a morning person and it amazed her that he could sleep so late into the day. She had never liked the idea of sleeping the day away. As she finished her bagel, she wondered why she was the only one in the whole condo awake. Was she really the only one who woke up at a reasonable hour?

After a few minutes of looking around, she decided that it was boring being the only one awake. Without making a sound, she walked over to the lumpy bed that Nathan was sleeping on and sat down next to him. When the shift in weight on the bed didn't even faze him, she took her hand and lovingly ran it down his cheek. He was such a peaceful sleeper. To her dismay, he didn't even flinch at her touch so she resorted to softly poking him in the shoulder.

This time he did stir a little, but not enough to wake up. All he did was bring his hand up to swat at the place on his shoulder that she had just poked before drifting back into a calm slumber. Haley huffed in dismay. What if she needed him really bad and he wouldn't wake up? _If you needed him for something important then you would do more than poke him in the shoulder,_ she reminded herself.

She didn't want to deliberately wake him up. Well she did, but she didn't want it to be obvious. She looked around the quiet room one more time in search or something to occupy herself but came to the conclusion that she should just wake him up. It wasn't healthy to sleep really late anyway. With that, she poked his shoulder again as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Nathan. Nathan, are you awake?"

Nathan's eyes slowly opened upon hearing her voice and once her words registered in his brain, a smile crept across his face. "I am now." He said in a half-asleep voice, the one that had the ability to drive Haley insane. She didn't say a word, but instead laid down next to him, allowing his arm to wrap securely around her. Since she didn't offer an explanation for waking him up, he decided that it would be ok to go back to sleep.

"Nathan." She whispered again when she felt the steady rising and falling of his chest against her back. As much as she loved lying next to him, it just wasn't the same if he wasn't awake.

"Uh hum." He answered her without opening his mouth. It was too early for words. When she didn't say anything back for the second time, he decided to say something. "Baby, is there a reason you woke me up?"

His words were deep and lethargic against her neck and Haley couldn't help but shiver a little at them. He was really good at being sexy when he woke up in the morning. "No." She answered lightly as she rolled over and snuggled deeper into his chest. "I was bored." She mumbled, hoping that he really couldn't hear what she said.

He did hear what she said and couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped his throat at them. He knew that she liked to get up early and he also knew that Peyton and Tim didn't. He wasn't sure how late Brooke and Lucas were used to sleeping, but it was safe to say that Haley had probably been the only one awake and had woken him up because she was going crazy from the lonesome atmosphere. "Ok." He shrugged as he stroked her back and willed himself to fall back asleep.

"Nathan, are you going back to sleep after I just told you I was bored?" Haley asked in a demanding whisper. All she was asking for was a little companionship.

"I guess not." He sighed as he opened his eyes again to be met by his wife's warm brown ones staring back at him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have woken you up." She said as small tears started to slowly fill her eyes up. She was ashamed of herself for waking him up when he clearly wanted to sleep longer.

A small smile crossed Nathan's lips as he watched her eyes turn glossy. Her hormones were always the worst in the morning. "It's ok, I'm glad you woke me up." He tried as she looked up at him confused.

"Why would you be glad that I woke you up?" Was he lying to make her feel better again? He seemed to be doing that more often these days.

"Because now I can keep you company." He smiled lightly as he closed his eyes again. He couldn't help wanting to go back to sleep. Even though the bed was lumpy and the sheet had a hole in it that was the perfect size for his foot to fit through, it was still pretty appealing at 8:00 in the morning.

"Ok." She grinned happily as she drew circles on his t-shirt covered chest. "You're probably still a little tired so I'm guessing you don't want to go to the beach yet."

"Not really." He said with a yawn. Her actions were just making it that much harder to stay awake.

"Do you want me to make you some breakfast? They have bagels." She said happily as she left a light kiss in his chest.

"No. I'm not hungry." He replied simply as he fought the urge to turn over and go back to sleep. That would definitely not go over well with Haley.

"Ok, then we can just talk." Haley concluded. Nathan didn't say anything and Haley instantly knew that he was sleeping again. Realizing that her previous attempts at permanently waking him up had failed, she decided that she needed something bigger. Then it hit her, the one thing that was sure to wake him up, the one thing he would never be able to resist. She smiled mischievously as she put her hands on the side of his face and attached her lips to his.

His eyes instantly opened in surprise before he returned her kiss. He knew that this was probably her way of waking him up for good, but he didn't care, he was going to enjoy the hell out of it. He tightened his hold on her waist, bringing her as close as her small baby bump would allow.

Haley was taken a little off guard when his tongue traced the outline of her lips begging for entrance. "Nathan, stop. Brooke, Lucas, or Peyton could come out here any minute." She giggled.

"You started it." He whispered in her ear as she giggled a little more before kissing him again, letting his tongue enter into her mouth. She had only wanted to wake him up, but a good make-out session was fine too.

"Not that I'm against morning make-out sessions, but don't you guys think you should at least wait until you're in your own condo?" Brooke laughed as she walked through her bedroom door and into the kitchen.

"Sorry." Haley laughed sheepishly as she pulled away from Nathan. "Hey, I was wondering where you guys keep your sugar because I really needed some on my bagel this morning."

Nathan groaned as Haley got up off the bed and walked into the kitchen with Brooke. "Thanks a lot, Brooke." He grumbled.

"No problem hot shot." Brooke replied cheerfully as she pulled a yogurt from the refrigerator and then showed Haley where the sugar was. "So what are you guys doing today?"

"Well, if Nathan knows what's good for him, he'll tell Whitey about the air conditioner." Haley replied happily. She did not want to sleep on that lumpy couch any more than necessary. She was pretty sure that her back hurt this morning for reasons other than carrying an extra few pounds in the front.

"I heard that." Nathan said against his pillow.

"Good." Haley smiled. "Does that mean you'll tell him?"

"I don't know Haley. Why can't we just call someone to fix it ourselves?" He complained. Nick and Nicki were supposed to have arrived home last night and telling Whitey would only make things worse. If they asked Whitey to send someone else to fix it, Nick would find out and would without doubt become suspicious of them. But, there was also no way that he was allowing Nick into his condo.

"Because, we don't own the condo Nathan. We have to tell him." Haley reminded him. The air conditioner wasn't their property to fix and therefore they had to tell Whitey about it. Nathan groaned as he rolled over to go back to sleep. "So Brooke, are you going to tell me what's going on with you and Lucas?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Brooke replied easily as she slipped a spoonful of vanilla yogurt into her mouth.

"Yes you do." Haley smiled. She then looked over to where her husband was trying to go back to sleep and then to Tim curled up on the floor. "Let's go outside." The last thing she wanted to do was wake them up now that she had someone to talk to.

Brooke nodded and followed her out the front door into the ridiculously hot morning air. "Well, aren't you glad that stayed in our condo last night?" She smiled as Haley glowered at her for changing the subject. "Fine, Lucas and I aren't fighting anymore."

"Brooke, that's obvious. I was looking for something a little deeper. Did you guys talk about your problems?" Haley questioned softly.

"Well…kind-of." Brooke responded casually before her face turned into a sad frown. "No. Haley, what am I going to do? We talked, but I don't think we really covered the deepest aspects of our problems."

"Ok, well, what did you guys talk about?" Haley asked soothingly. "I mean, you must have gotten somewhere for you both to be comfortable sleeping together again."

"You know, just the light things. We both apologized. He promised to make sure I always know that he loves me and I promised to wait a little longer before I start freaking out about marriage. But deep down I still feel like there's a wall up around his heart that didn't used to be there, and I don't know why." A small tear escaped from Brooke's eye and she quickly reached up to wipe it away.

"It's ok Brooke," Haley said calmingly as she pulled her friend into a hug. She felt bad for Brooke's situation because she could see how desperate to fix it her friend was. She couldn't even imagine how she would feel if Nathan closed off a part of his heart to her. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"No, because as far as he's concerned everything is fine between us. I'm afraid that if I bring it up again, we'll be right back where we started." Brooke whined. "Is it wrong for me to be afraid of that? Do you think I'm overreacting?"

"I don't know, Brooke." Haley sighed. "If you feel like your relationship with Lucas isn't where it should be, then you need to talk to him about it. You guys can't even begin to work on your problems until you are both clear on what they are."

Brooke knew that Haley was right; she needed to talk to Lucas. The only thing that kept her from doing so was her fear. There was no guarantee that if she did bring up the underlying reason for their arguments that they would ever be able to work through them. "You're right, I-"

Before she could finish, the door opened, startling them both. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Peyton apologized with a smiled as she stepped out into the hallway with them and closed the door behind her. "So, what's going on?"

"We're just discussing Einstein's theory of relativity." Brooke said sarcastically. "What do you think we're doing?"

"Oh, so this is about Lucas." Peyton nodded knowingly. Brooke always got snippy when she was frustrated over a Lucas-related situation. "My advice is to tell him how you feel."

"You don't even know what the problem is." Haley laughed at Peyton who shrugged.

"No, but if it has to do with Brooke and Lucas then the answer is always tell the other how you feel." Peyton smiled as she pulled the car keys out of her pocket. "I've got to go, but I'll talk to you both later."

"Wait, where are you going?" Brooke questioned. They didn't need any food and she was pretty sure that they had plenty of tampons lying around, so what did Peyton need to get?

"I need to pick up something and then I'm going to see Jake." Peyton answered as she hurriedly walked past them.

"What? Peyton Sawyer stop right there!" Haley laughed. "You're going to see Jake?" Peyton nodded before Haley continued on. "But I thought you said that your date was terrible and he would never want to see you again?"

"Funny." Peyton said sarcastically in response to Haley's playfully dramatic voice. "And I thought you said that if it's meant to be, then it will work out?"

"I did say that." Haley smiled as Brooke looked between the two. She never should have willingly missed the girl time that they shared two nights ago.

"Ok, well, I realized that this relationship will never have a chance if I don't fight for it. So that's what I'm going to do." Peyton said resolutely as Brooke hugged her. She hadn't slept at all last night because every time she closed her eyes she heard a voice telling her to go to Jake, to talk to him. Maybe it was a sign, maybe it was her tired mind playing tricks on her, but either way, she needed to see Jake and tell him what a mistake she had made.

"I'm so proud of you P. Sawyer. I knew you could do it." Brooke beamed as she released Peyton from the bone-crushing embrace.

"I haven't even done anything yet." Peyton laughed.

"Yeah, well, deciding to take the plunge is one step farther than I am." She sighed as she stared off into space. If Peyton could put her heart on the line with Jake, then she could with Lucas. Lucas needed to know how she felt about their relationship, he deserved to know.

"You'll get there, Brooke. When you're ready." Peyton encouraged. "I really need to go before the nerves kick in, so I'll se you later." She smiled before hurrying off.

"Ok, if she can do it, then so can I." Brooke said determinedly. "I'm going to talk to Lucas and try to find out what the hell is wrong with our relationship."

"Good for you, Brooke." Haley said as she gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "I think that's the best thing you can do at this point. Let me just get my husband out or your way." With that, Haley walked back into the condo with Brooke following close behind her.

"I'm just going to go run some cold water over my face or something." Brooke smiled nervously as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Haley made her way over to the bed that Nathan was once again sleeping peacefully on. No doubt he would not be thrilled about being woken up again, but there was no way she was going to give Brooke any reason to back out of talking to Lucas. She decided to try the quiet approach again, hoping that he would just wake up without her having to tempt him. She softly brought her hand up and ran it down the side of his face as she whispered his name.

Nathan wasn't in a very deep sleep so the small tingles he felt on his face were enough to wake him up. His eyes slowly fluttered open at the sound of his name and he couldn't help but smile when he saw his wife looking down at him. "Are you bored again?" He managed to say sleepily.

"No, I think we should go. Brooke needs to talk to Lucas." Haley whispered, her hand still lovingly caressing his face.

"Go where? Our condo was turned into a sauna in case you forgot." He joked as he grabbed her hand and sweetly kissed her palm.

"We could go tell Whitey about the air conditioner." She suggested hopefully. She knew that it wasn't going to get fixed unless they told him. She completely understood why he wouldn't want to tell Whitey, but she also realized that it was necessary.

"Hales, let me look at it again." He pleaded. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Whitey because when they told him, there was no way Nick would not find out about it.

"Fine, you can look at it." Haley smiled. "But you and I both know that you won't be able to fix it." Nathan huffed at this and attempted to bury his face in his pillow again. "No, Nathan, you need to get up." She commanded sternly.

"I don't want to." He mumbled against the soft white pillowcase.

"Well, I want you to." Haley tried, hoping that she would be able to persuade him to get up on his own without having to make him. "Please get up for me."

Nathan opened one eye to look at her, trying to decide if she was serious. She knew that he would do anything for her and if she really was asking him to get up then he would. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." Haley said resolutely as she stood up from the bed and walked over to where Tim was sleeping in the sleeping bag. "Tim, wake up." She said loudly.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Tim yelled as he sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. Haley and Nathan looked at him strangely before he laid back down.

"Tim, wake up. We're leaving." Haley tried again, only to be ignored by Tim. She huffed in annoyance when she looked back over at her husband who was now drifting back to sleep as well. It was like trying to wake up a bunch of 15 year olds. She irritably made her way back over to the couch bed and threw the blanket and sheet off of him, causing him to groan in annoyance.

"Haley, just five more minutes." He pleaded as he grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him.

"Nathan, no. You need to wake up now because we need to leave." Haley said firmly as she moved to get up, only to be held in place by Nathan's arm which wrapped tightly around her waist. "You're being very childish."

"So." He mumbled, his eyes still closed. For some reason, he was having extreme difficulties in motivating himself to wake up this morning. Maybe it was just the fatigue from the trip this weekend finally kicking in, or maybe it was just laziness on his part.

Haley sighed when she saw Brooke come out of the bathroom and make her way nervously to the door of the bedroom that she and Lucas shared. Brooke needed alone time with Lucas and Haley needed to give it to her. She didn't want to have to do this, but she decided that she had to resort to the one thing that would get Nathan up quickly. "Please wake up." She tried one last time, in almost a warning voice.

"It's only 8:30." He defended himself as he nestled his face into her back. That was it; she had no choice but to use her last resort. She quickly put a hand on her stomach and leaned over as if she was in pain. Nathan sensed her motions and promptly bolted upright. "What is it? Are you ok?" He asked hastily, wide awake now.

"I'm fine." She said as she stood up and looked at him with a smile. "Since you're awake, will you please make Tim get up too?"

"That's not funny." He said in a low voice. "Don't do that again, you scared the hell out of me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said soothingly as she stepped foreword and dropped a light kiss on his forehead. "Maybe next time you'll get up when I ask you to. Now, Tim."

Nathan smiled and shook his head. It was impossible for him to stay mad at her. "Tim, get up now." He said sternly. Tim automatically shot up and rubbed his eyes. "So, I guess we're going to tell Whitey about the air conditioner." He caved.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey everyone! First of all I want to say that I have absolutely no idea how long this story is going to be. lol. It will be however many chapters it takes to finish it I guess :-) I want to thank Carol for making my week and being super nice. haha. Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, as always. You guys are awesome. So here's chapter 20...hope you like!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 20**

Peyton exhaled heavily before knocking on the clean white door. This was it. This was her one chance to try and make things right with Jake. She had thought about this moment countless times over the course of the past year and now she felt like if she didn't come clean to him about her feelings, then she would probably regret it for the rest of her life.

She realized now that she had been wrong in pushing him towards Nicki. She loved him. Still, after a year of being apart, she loved him. Her stomach was in knots as she waited for him to answer the door. Part of her hoped that he wouldn't, that he wasn't home. What was she going to say anyway? Was she really expecting him to just forgive her and take her back right here, right now?

She jumped back a little as the sound of the door opening tore her from her worries. Her eyes went wide and her face broke out into a smile when she saw the little girl standing in front of her. Jenny. She looked older, more mature maybe. Her light hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, probably Jake's sad attempt at one, and a bright orange headband rested on her head. Jenny just looked at her with wide eyes, as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. "Hi, Jenny. It's me, Peyton. I don't know if you remember me, I think you were only four the last time I saw you." She rambled. "Wow, you're getting so big. Your dad told me you're starting school in the fall-"

Before she could continue, Jenny launched herself into Peyton's arms and hugged her. "I missed you Peyton! Daddy told me that you might come and visit me someday. I got your card on my birthday. Thank you so much for the five dollars! I bought some candy with it."

"Oh, I missed you too Jenny. Is your dad here?" Peyton would have loved to sit and talk to Jenny, but she knew that she needed to talk to Jake first before she lost her nerve.

"Uh huh, hold on." Jenny smiled brightly, exposing a gap in her mouth where one of her front teeth was missing. "Daddy!" She called up the stairs loudly. "Peyton came to visit us!" She yelled excitedly.

Peyton started to nervously play with her hands as soon as Jenny called up the stairs for Jake. This was it. Jake curiously looked down the stairs to see what Jenny was talking about. After their disastrously uncomfortable "date" the other day, he was sure that Peyton would never come over here again, not that he didn't want her to…

"Daddy, see, look! It's Peyton!" Jenny said excitedly as she ran up the steps and pulled Jake along with her until they were both standing in front of the blond haired young woman. "I think she wants to talk to you."

"Uh, hi." Jake said intriguingly. What was Peyton doing here?

"Hi." Her voice came out as barely audible because her nerves were so on end. After she spilled her heart to him, they would either have a happily ever after moment, or he would ask her to leave and she would never see the man she loved again. It was strange to her how even though she hadn't talked to Jake in a year, she still loved him. "I'm sorry about just coming over here, but I really need to talk to you…"

"Daddy, can Peyton stay and play baby dolls with me? Please Daddy? Can she?" Jenny asked eagerly as she bounced up and down and tugged at the bottom of Jake's shirt.

"Uh, I don't know Jenny. Can I talk to Peyton alone for a few minutes?" He said as he removed his daughter's hands from his shirt and she nodded her head. "Why don't you go watch Dora or something?"

"Daddy, Dora is for babies." She pointed out as she stuck out her bottom lip in a tear jerking pout. "I want to watch ER."

"What? Fine, but just this once." Jake caved as the little girl cheered, hugged his leg, and then ran off into the living room. "I've been catching her watching ER on TNT in the morning." He chuckled.

Peyton just stood there nervously without saying anything. She really wanted to talk about Jenny and play baby dolls with her, but she couldn't. Not until Jake knew how she felt. "Jake, I need to talk to you." She repeated.

"Ok, um, do you think we need to go outside?" He questioned curiously. If this had something to do with Nicki, then he was sure that he didn't want Jenny to hear about it. When Nicki took off last year, Jenny was heartbroken and she became upset anytime someone mentioned her mother.

"That's probably a good idea." She said hurriedly as she turned around and stepped out the door. She took a deep breath of the fresh air as she waited for Jake to shut the door behind him. "Ok." She blew out. "I really need to say this and you're probably going to hate me for it, which is kid-of the reason I'm scared to do it, but there's something you need to know."

"Is this about Nicki?" He asked quietly as Peyton looked at him oddly.

"No." She said hastily. "This is about me and how I feel-"

"Is something wrong with you? You said how you feel, are you sick?" Jake questioned worriedly. He didn't know what he would do if that was the case. Sure, they weren't exactly together or even friends right now, but he still loved her.

"No, nothing like that. Jake, please stop interrupting me." She smiled. "I need to say this and every time you interrupt I lose more and more of my courage."

"Ok, sorry. You were saying?"

"Yeah, so our date last week was…weird and awkward." They both laughed a little at this. It was almost funny how two people so in love could have such an uncomfortable lunch together. "Right, but I came here to tell you that I would really like to give it another shot. We could start over and try again."

Jake raised his eyebrows at her. What was he supposed to say to that? He loved her, but she was the one that broke his heart. Could he trust her again? "Peyton, I-"

"I'm not finished. Jake, I was wrong to leave you a year ago. I know this is probably the dumbest excuse you have ever heard, but I really thought that by letting you and Nicki be a family, I would be doing what's best for Jenny. I grew up without a mom, you know? And it was hard. I just didn't want to see her go through that." She sighed. "Look what good that did her."

"Peyton, I know that you were trying to do what's best for Jenny, and I love you for that, it's just that-"

"I know you can probably never trust me again. But, if it matters, I've been thinking about this moment for a really long time. I still love you Jake and all I want out of life is a second chance with you. I'm so sorry that I threw away us before, I'm sorry that I didn't say this sooner, I'm sorry for all sorts of things. Please, can we at least get coffee some time and talk?" Her eyes were glistening from what she had just said. Those words were her heart and she had just laid them on the line. Now she had to pray that Jake wouldn't throw them back in her face.

Jake was momentarily dumbfounded. She had just told him that she loved him ad that breaking his heart was a mistake. Of course he wanted to give his relationship with her another try, but he didn't want to end up in the same place he was in for the last year. "How about coffee tomorrow morning?"

* * *

It had been close to 10 minutes since Haley got Nathan and Tim to leave so Brooke could have her privacy when she confronted Lucas, but she still wasn't ready. She had been sitting outside the bedroom door the entire time trying to convince herself that Lucas would understand her need to work on their problems and he would openly discuss the issues with her. She kept going over different scenarios of what would happen in her mind, but they all seemed to end badly. What would she do if he got mad? 

She didn't want to bring this up to start an argument; she wanted to bring it up to prevent one. She knew that if she didn't talk to him about their issues that they would end up drifting apart, and that was something that she refused to let happen. She needed to talk to him about this now, before she chickened out. She took one last breath and then proceeded to open the door into the bedroom to find Lucas sitting on the bed tying his shoes.

"Hey, I was just coming out to find you." He smiled as he scooted over and patted the place next to him for her to sit down in. "So, what's up?"

"Lucas, we need to talk."

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good." He joked. Whenever anyone said those words, it usually meant something bad.

"I kind-of don't want to say this because things have been going so good with us lately, but I think that there's still some things that we need to discuss." She started nervously. The last thing she wanted to do was annoy him or make him angry.

"I feel the same way." Lucas admitted quietly.

"You do?" Brooke asked incredulously.

"Yeah." He laughed. "What? Did you think that you were the only one who worried about our relationship?"

"No, I…let's just talk, ok?" She giggled. She loved the way he could always lighten the mood and make her forget her worries, even if only for a few seconds.

"Sure, you go first. What are you concerned about?" He asked sweetly as he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her temple. He had known for awhile now that something between them wasn't quite right, but he had been dreading talking about it and he kept putting it off.

"I feel really petty about saying this, but I think my biggest problem is that I'm afraid that you're never going to want to commit to me." She said sheepishly. She didn't want to feel that way, she just did. "I know that you love me, but I'm not sure anymore if we want the same things out of life. I want to get married and have a family, but as far as I know, you don't want that."

"Brooke, I do want that. Just not yet." He tried to explain. It was hard to put into words how he felt about marriage. He did want to get married and start a family someday, but one thing he was sure of was that he wouldn't be ready for a while.

"I know, and you keep saying that Luke, but I'm just afraid that you'll never be ready. Can you please tell me why you're afraid of commitment?"

"I am not afraid of commitment!" He defended himself before softening. "Ok, maybe a little bit. I don't even know why I am, it's just something about the permanence of marriage that freaks me out."

"Why? Something that stable is comforting to most people." Brooke couldn't understand why something unchanging would scare him even a little bit. That's the reason that she wanted to get married someday, so that she would have at least one aspect of her life that she could depend on staying the same.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I've never had anything really permanent in my life besides my mom and Keith. My dad left, we moved so many times when I was little, and Nathan my piranha died; part of me thinks that it's not possible for something to be permanent."

"You're wrong, Lucas." Brooke said softly. "Things can be permanent. Look at Nathan and Haley. What they have is permanent. Keith and your mom, they've been with you since you were born, they haven't left." She took his face into her hands and looked straight into his eyes before speaking again. "My love for you is permanent. It's never going to change and it's never going away."

"I know, and I love that." He smiled lightly. "I'm afraid of losing you Brooke, that's why I'm afraid of such a large commitment like marriage. Dan was engaged to my mom when he left."

"What? I didn't know that…" Brooke trailed off. Dan and Karen had been engaged?

"Not officially, there were no rings or anything, but Dan had asked her to marry him when he found out about me. Then he just took off." Lucas said bitterly. "I guess that somewhere deep down I'm afraid that once I do decide that I'm ready and once I do propose, that you'll leave."

"Lucas, that's ridiculous! You know I would never leave you." Brooke said convincingly.

"I know, and that's why I feel stupid for feeling this way, but I can't help it. I just need to wait a little longer to get over some of my own issues before I'll be ready to get married."

"Ok." Brooke said softly. "Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"That's my fear to. Losing you. I think that's why this whole thing started." She admitted as she looked down at her hands. "You were pulling away from me because you weren't ready to commit and I was afraid I was losing you so I freaked out about you not wanting to get married. I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Brooke. I'm to blame here too. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn't want to be with you, because I do." Lucas said sincerely as she pulled her closer. He never wanted to make Brooke doubt his feelings for her.

"Let's just agree that we won't even think about marriage until we've graduated. That way you won't get freaked out about it, and I won't feel like you don't want to be with me." Brooke suggested as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"That sounds like a good plan. Let's just enjoy being together for now." Lucas said sweetly as he leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

"I can't believe I let you talk me into telling Whitey." Nathan laughed as he and Haley walked across the courtyard to the door of Whitey's office. "Let me just take one more look at it, maybe the way to fix it is so obvious that we didn't see it." 

"Nathan, no. We need to tell Whitey." Haley laughed and caught his hand as he turned around. "Do you really want to sleep on that lumpy couch in the middle of a condo that's not ours any longer than we have to?"

Nathan looked at her as if to ponder this for a few moments. "You're right, we need to tell Whitey." He smiled as he turned back towards the door and knocked. "We should just go in because the old man probably can't get out of his seat." He joked.

Before Haley could scold him for his mean comment or laugh at it, Whitey opened the door looking less than thrilled to have visitors. "Do you need something?"

Both Nathan and Haley were a little taken aback by his harsh tone and both wondered what could have possibly made him so irritated. "Yes, actually our-"

"No, I want Haley to answer. I'm not in the mood for your mind games, Scott." Whitey snipped as Nathan threw his hands up defensively.

"My bad." Nathan said sarcastically. "Can we at least come inside? It's like 100 degrees out here."

"Sure, come in and have a seat." Whitey said indifferently as he turned around and walked towards his desk. Nathan and Haley followed him and sat in the same seats that they were in a week ago. "Now, Haley, what in Heaven's name could have urged you two to come down and see me twice within a week's time?"

"Well, our air conditioner broke." Haley said simply as she watched Whitey reach a tired hand up to rub his face.

"When did this happen?" He asked seriously.

"Um, two nights ago." Haley answered easily as she smoothed out the shirt over top of her bump.

"Nathan, what did you do to it?" Whitey asked impatiently as he shot a glare at Nathan.

"Nothing! I was in Charlotte!" He defended himself as Haley shook her head in confirmation. Something was wrong with Whitey today. Haley knew that he and Nathan normally mocked each other back and forth jokingly, but Whitey seemed to be agitated about something and was being more cruel than normal in his comments.

"You went to Charlotte and left Haley here all by herself?" Whitey scolded. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, boy. She was probably scared half to death when the damn thing went out."

"I told him to go, Whitey." Haley chuckled. "It was his anniversary present. And Peyton was with me so I wasn't really scared."

"You said it went out two nights ago?" He asked again as he gave them both the evil eye and they nodded their heads. "Well, then why the devil didn't you tell me until today?"

"Ask him." Haley smiled as she pointed to her husband who gave a sarcastic thank you smile.

Whitey looked expectantly at Nathan who spoke up after shifting in his chair a little bit. "I didn't want to tell you yet because of Nick."

"Nick? Again with this Nick stuff? Nathan, we already cleared this up, that whole situation was a big misunderstanding. Nick is a fine person and you should really start giving him the benefit of the doubt." Whitey groaned. He wasn't sure if there was anything to Nathan and Haley's accusations, but he wasn't going to start doubting his employee until he had a solid reason to.

"Yeah, that's going to happen." Nathan responded sarcastically. Why would he ever give Nick the benefit of the doubt? The guy was a creep!

"It should; in fact, I'll send Nick up to fix your air conditioner tomorrow morning." Whitey smiled smugly. This would prove to be a good test. If Nick started something while he was up there, then he would be fired immediately. If Nathan was the instigator, then, well, Nathan was the instigator.

"What? Um, no you won't." Nathan protested stubbornly. "Can't you find someone else to do it?"

"Nathan, Nick is the man I pay to fix broken air conditioners." Whitey said gruffly. "Therefore, he's the one who will be fixing yours."

"Nathan, it's ok. We can just go out for breakfast or something so we never see him." Haley suggested softly. She didn't exactly want to be around Nick either, but the air conditioner had to be fixed…

"You can go out to breakfast." Nathan responded as he stared Whitey down. The old man was being extra difficult today. Why?

"What would you do while I'm out to breakfast?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows. The whole point of going out, besides to keep herself away from Nick, was to keep Nathan away from him. If Nathan and Nick were alone, it would undoubtedly end badly. Haley knew that Nathan really hadn't been too fond of Nick before the whole incident last week, but now he was ready to kill the guy.

"Hales, I'm not going to leave Nick alone in our condo." Nathan defended himself, this time looking over at her. "He'll probably lock himself in there or something. He seems to be pretty lock happy." He mumbled as Haley gave him a disapproving look.

"That's enough Nathan." Whitey said harshly. "I'm gonna say this one time and one time only. Until you give me a real reason to believe that Nick is a bad person, you will not openly insinuate otherwise."

"A real reason? How's locking my wife in his condo for a reason? Are you telling me that wasn't real? Because it seemed pretty damn real to me." Nathan huffed. Whitey was being so dismissive about this whole thing and Nathan didn't like it. Why didn't anyone but him take Nick's actions seriously?

"That's not what I'm saying." Whitey barked. "Nick was out of line in what he did, but you need to let it go. Nothing happened which makes it not a good reason for suspicion."

"How is that not suspicious?" Nathan laughed sarcastically.

"Nick didn't do anything! You may not have liked what happened, but Nick didn't do anything wrong." Whitey yelled back.

Haley had been silently watching Whitey and her husband argue back and forth for the past couple of minutes and she couldn't help but feel like something had gotten Whitey flustered before they got here. Something else was the reason he was in such a bad mood today. "Whitey, is there something wrong?"

Both Nathan and Whitey turned to look at her now. "I don't know what you're talking about." Whitey said elusively as he looked away from Haley and back at Nathan. "The only thing wrong with me is the pain in the neck that you call your husband."

"Oh, real mature." Nathan scoffed before actually looking at Whitey and noticing something he hadn't noticed when they came in to the office. His eyes. His eyes were filled with sadness and seemed so tired. Haley was right, something wasn't right with him. "Seriously, what's wrong Whitey?" He said in a softer tone, one that could be classified as concern-filled.

"Nothing." Whitey said again in a less convincing way as he started shuffling through some papers on his desk.

Haley looked around the office and noticed that there was a box in the corner that she had never seen before. She got up out of her seat and made her way to the box as Nathan and Whitey started arguing again. She slowly peered inside and pulled out a picture of Camilla that Whitey had obviously been looking at. She suddenly understood why Whitey was in such a bad mood, he must have been going through some of Camilla's old things.

"Nathan, I'm not going to fire Nick just to see how he reacts. That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard-" Whitey was yelling before Haley approached him and pulled him into a big hug. "Ok…" Whitey said confused as he looked up at Nathan who shrugged and mouthed the word 'hormones'.

"I know you miss her." Haley said softly. "If you ever want to talk, we're here."

Whitey knew exactly what she was talking about and his eyes immediately became glossy. It meant a lot to him that she would say something like that. "Thank you, Haley." Nathan watched the exchange and became a little ashamed for fighting with the old man. He couldn't even imagine what Whitey was going through right now and he honestly didn't want to make it worse. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he looked down at his hands. "This reminds me, I have something for you."

Haley pulled away from him and gave him an inquisitive look as he started walking into a room off of the back of the office. She reached over and grabbed Nathan's shirt as if to tell him to follow her as they made their way into the back room as well.

"I was going through some of Camilla's old stuff today and I found something I thought the both of you could use." Whitey said as he started to scan the room for the box he wanted. When he found it, he hurriedly walked over to it and opened the top. "Camilla was a descendent of Austrian nobility and her family just loved to pass things down. Unfortunately, Camilla and I never had anyone to pass this down to so I thought you might like it."

Nathan watched as Whitey pulled a light purple blanket out of the box and gave it to Haley who stared at it in awe. The blanket was made of soft purple material and had the word 'baby' stitched in the corner in an elaborate design. "Whitey, we couldn't possibly take this from you." She said as she fingered the intricate designs in the corner.

"Nonsense. I'm not planning on having any kids in the future, and you clearly are."

Haley giggled at this as she placed her free hand on her growing stomach. "Thank you. It's so beautiful, I'm sure he'll love it."

Whitey raised his eyebrows at the mention of 'he'. "It's a boy." Nathan said proudly.

"Well congratulations!" Whitey laughed as he closed the box back up again. "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"No." Haley groaned. "Finding the right name for him is like the hardest thing I've had to do for a very long time."

"You'll think of something." Whitey said encouragingly as he walked back into the office and sat down at his desk. Nathan and Haley followed him, taking their seats once again, Haley holding the beautiful blanket in her lap. "So, where were we? Oh yes, the whole Nick situation."

Haley looked over at Nathan as if to tell him that he better start being nice, especially since Whitey just gave their son a blanket. "I'm sorry for being an ass about him." He mumbled as Haley nodded in approval. She didn't like Nick either, but her mother always taught her that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

"Nathan, I understand why you resent him and part of me thinks that you may even be on to something where he is concerned, but I can't fire my employees based on suspicion. I need proof that Nick is up to no good before I can make any type of move." Whitey said in frustration. He wanted to believe Nathan, but he just couldn't. There was no evidence whatsoever to support Nick being some sort of dangerous criminal.

"I know. He just gets under my skin." Nathan sighed as Whitey nodded in agreement. There was something about Nick and Nicki that just didn't sit right with him and really made him angry. It was almost as if every time he was around one of them he would become irritated without them even speaking a word.

"I'm sorry to break the moment or whatever, but our condo is seriously about 90 degrees right now, so where are we on the whole air conditioner argument?" Haley joked.

Nathan looked at Whitey and realized that there was no way that he could send anyone besides Nick to fix the AC. "Fine, send Nick to fix it."

"Good." Whitey smiled as his phone started to ring. "I'll send him up first thing in the morning."

"Ok, but if he does anything even remotely annoying I can't promise I won't kick him out." Nathan shrugged as Haley playfully slapped his shoulder.

"Thank you, Whitey. For everything." Haley smiled as she stood up and Whitey waved to them.

"Hello?" Whitey said as he picked up the phone after smiling and waving goodbye to them. It always amused him how his relationship with Nathan was so love/hate. They had been arguing and then a minute later they were civil again.

"I'm proud of you for agreeing to let Nick come over tomorrow morning. I know you don't trust him, but I think that was the right thing to do." Haley praised after they got outside the office and as she wrapped her arm around Nathan's and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Yeah, best case scenario, he does something idiotic and I can get him fired." He joked. "Why don't you see if Brooke or Peyton want to go out to breakfast with you?"

"I'm not going out to breakfast anymore." She laughed. "I was only going to go if you were going."

"Haley, Nick is going to be in our condo. I thought you'd want to be away from him." Nathan responded playfully. He wanted her to be away from him and he wanted to be with her, but he had no intention of letting Nick be in their condo alone.

"I don't want to be near him, but I want to be near you." She explained. "Besides, if I'm not there to keep the peace who knows what you'll do?"

"True." He laughed as he lifted up his arm so she could wrap her free arm around his waist and he could do the same. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, and I love you too."


	21. Chapter 21

Hey guys, first of all I want to say that I'm sorry that this update was a little late too...I feel bad. I promise I will get with it and go back to updating at least every other day! Ok, reviewers, I love you all. You are amazing and there really aren't enough lovely words to describe you. Keep it up! Anyway, chapter 21 is here...enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 21**

"When is he going to get here? I thought Whitey said he was going to send him up first thing in the morning?" Nathan asked in frustration as he took another swig of his cold water. "We've been waiting in this toaster for almost an hour."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Haley assured him as she emerged from the bedroom in a pair of short shorts and a white cami. The t-shirt she had been wearing had proved to be too hot in this condo so she had decided to change.

"Whoa, Hales, what are you wearing?" Nathan said sternly as he looked at the little shirt she was wearing with the tiny shorts.

"Um, a cami and shorts." Haley laughed a little. "It's so hot in here that you're lucky I'm not walking around in my underwear."

"But Nick's going to be here any minute. You need to go change." He said resolutely as she crossed her arms in protest. There was no way he was letting Nick see her in that outfit.

"Nathan, there is nothing wrong with this outfit. It's the only thing that will keep me from burning alive." She laughed. She was not going to put on that hot t-shirt again. "What do you want me to wear? A snowsuit?"

"Did you pack one of those?" He asked mischievously as she playfully smacked his shoulder. "Seriously Haley, at least put a sweater on."

"What do you think he's just going to jump me right here in front of you?" She laughed as she walked over to the freezer and grabbed herself a popsicle.

"I would." He grinned as she handed him a popsicle as well.

"That doesn't count, you're allowed to." Haley responded as she peeled off the white wrapper exposing the cold red popsicle.

"Am I?" He smiled suggestively at her causing her to giggle a little before correcting her statement.

"Not right now." She clarified. "Nick could be here any minute."

"Does that mean later?"

"Maybe. But only if you're nice to Nick." Haley didn't like Nick at all, especially after what happened, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she had blown the whole situation out of proportion. Nick and Nicki had been home yesterday, that was the first time Nathan and Haley had seen them since the whole incident and talking to Nick in Whitey's office, and they had acted like perfect neighbors. They had been friendly and hadn't done a single thing that would be classified as suspicious. Their behavior the day before, plus her and Nathan's conversations with Whitey, had really made her start to doubt what had happened. How sure was she anyway that Nick had had bad intentions when he pulled her inside and offered her a drink?

"But Haley." Nathan whined. "The guy's a jerk."

"Maybe, but maybe we read him wrong? I mean, I thought you were a jerk before I got to know you." Haley said evenly. She wasn't sure if giving Nick a chance was really a good idea and she wasn't sure how she felt about what happened. At the time she had been really scared, but after thinking about it for the past week she understood why Whitey had said he did nothing wrong. Nick had done nothing _wrong_.

"Yeah, but I never locked you in my condo with me." Nathan defended himself. "And please do not compare me with Nick."

"I'm not." Haley said quickly. "You're nothing like him. I'm just saying that maybe we should give him a second chance to make a first impression."

"You mean a third chance? Remember when we first met him?" Nathan's blood began to boil just thinking about the way Nick had looked Haley up and down which reminded him of his original point. "You really need to put some more clothes on."

"Nathan, in case you haven't noticed, I'm pregnant." Haley giggled as Nathan looked at her confusedly. "I'm already starting to look like a whale; I don't think that you need to worry about Nick gawking at me."

"Why not? You look pretty damn hot to me." He huffed. She needed to go change or he would end up beating the crap out of Nick if he even looked her way.

"Well maybe that's because it's your fault I look like a balloon that is slowly being inflated." She said playfully as she walked up to stand right in front of him.

"Yeah, that might be part of it." He laughed as he put the hand that wasn't holding his popsicle on her back to bring her a little closer. "But the bigger part is because you are just naturally sexy. Which brings me back to my original argument, you need to put something else on before Nick gets here."

"But if I put on more clothes, then I won't get to see you beat up Nick for looking at me." She smiled playfully.

"Yeah, but if you do put on some more clothes, then I won't have to beat up Nick for looking at you which means I'll be allowed to take them off of you later." He smirked. No matter how much he wanted to give Nick a piece of his mind, he would hold back if she was his reward.

"You, Nathan Scott, have one dirty mind." She smiled as she took a bite out of her popsicle.

"I can't help it." He shrugged before mimicking her actions and biting the top off of his own popsicle. "You make my mind dirty."

"Oh, so now you're going to blame your filthy thoughts on me?" She laughed coyly.

"Of course I am. It's not my fault you look so hot all the time." He laughed as she playfully swatted at his shoulder again. The moment was interrupted by a loud knock at the door and they both turned to stare at it. "That must be Nick. Please go put something else on, you'll feel more comfortable that way."

Haley thought about this for a few seconds, her eyes never leaving the door. Sure, she wanted to give Nick a chance, but that didn't change the fact that he creeped her out a little bit. No matter how hot it was in the condo, Nathan was right; she would feel a lot more comfortable around Nick with her regular t-shirt on. She looked up at Nathan who nodded in understanding.

He watched as she quickly made her way back into the bedroom and shut the door before throwing the rest of his popsicle away and advancing to the source of the loud thumping that had not ceased. He flung the door open to reveal a slightly annoyed Nick, probably because it took Nathan more than a minute to answer the door.

"Jeez, what took you so long?" Nick mumbled under his breath as he stepped inside with his small toolbox. Nathan only rolled his eyes as Nick set the toolbox on the table and then took a look around the condo. "So, where's the problem?"

Nathan motioned towards the thermostat by the front door just as Haley walked out of the bedroom in a t-shirt now instead of her cami. Both men turned to look at her and Nick instantly started laughing. "What the hell is your problem?" Nathan said hotly.

"Nothing…I have a question for you Nathan." Nick smiled, his eyes still on Haley making both Nathan and Haley extremely uneasy. "So, I've never banged a pregnant girl, is it true that the sex is better?"

Haley's face twisted in disgust as she put her hand on Nathan's arm to hold him back. "Shut the hell up asshole and fix the damn air conditioner." Nathan spat out angrily. He wanted the AC fixed and Nick out of here right now.

"Ok, jeez, it was a joke." Nick laughed. Nicki had suggested that he act rude but not in a way that he could cause suspicion. That way, the incident last week would be seen as just a misunderstanding because of his personality. At first he hadn't understood what Nicki was talking about, but then he realized that if Nathan and Haley thought he was always rude like that, then maybe they would dismiss the whole thing.

"Yeah, well it wasn't funny." Nathan said bitterly as Nick grabbed a few tools from his toolbox. Nick was so annoying. What kind of sick pervert asks a question like that? Especially when Haley's right there.

"Sorry, my bad." Nick apologized in a very unapologetic voice as he walked over to where the thermostat was to look at it. "I took a look at the air conditioner outside and it seems to be working fine, therefore the problem must be with this thing."

"Wow, I never would have guessed that from the sparks coming out if it." Nathan said sarcastically as Haley gave him a warning look.

"Nathan, can I talk to you for a minute?" She smiled sweetly as she started to pull him towards the bedroom.

"Yes." Nathan sighed. He knew what this meant; she was going to yell at him for being rude to Nick. The irony of the whole thing was that she hadn't yelled at Nick. What he had said was completely inappropriate and yet Haley didn't get mad at him!

Nick watched them disappear into the bedroom and shut the door. This was his chance. He quickly made his way back to his toolbox and dropped his wrench in there. Then he took a moment to slowly survey the big room he was in. It was much like his own condo, the kitchen and living room were open and only separated by the strategic placement of furniture, the only difference was that theirs didn't smell like smoke. He began to walk around quietly looking for anything that seemed out of place or like it could be a good hiding spot for what he was looking for. The object of his desire was somewhere on the third floor…

"Haley, the guy had it coming to him!" Nathan defended himself once the door was safely closed behind him.

"Nathan, I thought we talked about this? It doesn't matter if he has it coming to him or not, you still have to be nice." Haley said back evenly.

"Are you kidding me? Didn't you hear what he said?" Nathan asked incredulously. How could she expect him to act civil when the bastard makes lame ass comments like that?

"I heard it." Haley said softly as she looked to the floor and then back up at Nathan. "It was rude and inconsiderate, but you have to be the bigger man." She had wanted to say exactly what Nathan said when Nick asked that vulgar question, but she was also still trying to decide how she felt about him.

Part of her thought he really was some kind of criminal with an agenda. Everything he did sent up red flags in her mind. He always stared intently at everything, especially things he had never seen before. She had also noticed that he had hushed conversations with Nicki quite frequently when he thought no one was around. Yesterday when she was out by the pool she had heard them talking behind a tree about something. It was just really out of the ordinary.

But there was also another part to her, one that said she was only searching for drama and that Nick was just a little rough around the edges. Maybe that whole incident last week had actually been a misunderstanding? Maybe the way he acted, with his rude remarks and crude humor, was just his personality? Every time she thought about Nick, she became more confused.

Nathan looked into her eyes and could tell that she was confused about what to believe about Nick. Her nature was to assume that he was a good person and treat him that way, while his was to impulsively beat the crap out of the guy. "Haley, he's obnoxious. Can you please let go of the whole 'Nick is misunderstood' crap?"

"Nathan, please? Do it for me?" She begged. She had no idea if Nick was a bad person or not, but either way it definitely wouldn't hurt to be on his good side. She didn't want Nathan picking fights with Nick just because the guy said some offensive things.

Nathan sighed as he looked at her again. He needed to be the bigger man if that's what she wanted. "Fine, I'll try. Again." He sighed. He didn't want to give Nick the benefit of the doubt over anything, but if that's what Haley wanted, then that's what he would do.

"Thank you. We'll talk later ok? I promise." She smiled as she pecked him on the cheek and then walked out through the door.

Nathan watched her go with a smile. How was it possible for him to love her so much? The talk that she had promised him was definitely needed though. Either she was going to have to persuade him to like Nick, or he was going to have to make her hate him.

"What are you doing?" He heard Haley say from the other room and quickly made his way to the doorway to see Nick fingering the intricate designs on the blanket that Whitey had given to them the day before. He gave Nick a stern look as if to say 'answer her'.

"Where did you get this blanket?"

Haley eyed Nick suspiciously as Nathan bit his tongue to keep from saying something mean. "Whitey gave it to us." She responded as she stepped forward and gently took the blanket from him and started to refold it.

"Did he say where he got it from?" Nick asked eagerly. This proved that what he and Nicki were looking for exits…

"Is that any of your business?" Nathan snapped before receiving a stern look from Haley. Hadn't they just talked about this? "It was Camilla's." Nathan corrected himself. "Don't you have an air conditioner to fix?"

Nick rolled his eyes as he went back to his toolbox and removed several different size screwdrivers. Ok, so now he knew that Whitey knew about Camilla's ancestry and that the old man obviously knew the location of what it was he and his sister was searching for. With any luck at all, he would get the old man to spill the whereabouts…

A few hours later, the air conditioner had been successfully fixed and Nick made a grumpy exit. He had not gotten to do nearly enough snooping with those two watching his every move. The only interesting thing he learned was that Whitey was close enough to the Scotts to have given them a valuable blanket. That blanket wasn't only sentimental.

"I'm proud of you for sucking it up and being pleasant to Nick today." Haley beamed as she wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Pleasant? Where were you today?" Nathan joked. He had been far from pleasant and he knew it. He had tried really hard to do what Haley asked, but it seemed like sarcastic remarks just slipped out when he wasn't thinking…

"Well, you didn't start a fight or anything, so I think that deserves a reward." Haley said coyly as she reached her hand up to run a finger down Nathan's face, stopping on his lips.

He kissed her finger before smiling. "What exactly is this reward?"

Haley looked up as if to think about it. "Um…ice cream." She giggled as Nathan laughed. "We need some after being stuck in this condo all day."

"That we do." He smiled as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Let's go."

* * *

"I can't believe you actually got all of that on your ice cream." Nathan smiled as he watched Haley stuff a spoonful of ice cream with about 6 different toppings on it into her mouth.

"Your son made me." She pouted as she dipped the spoon in the ice cream again. This stuff was so addicting.

"Oh, so now you're going to use him as an excuse?" Nathan teased as he stole a spoonful of her ice cream and put it in his own mouth.

"Of course I am!" Haley laughed. "If I have to carry him around and look like an elephant while I do it, then I should get to eat whatever ice cream I want and blame it on him."

"That sounds fair." Nathan conceded before he finished off his own ice cream. "So, Nick…"

"Ugh, I just had to promise to talk about this didn't I?" Haley sighed jokingly.

"Something is seriously up with him." Nathan said seriously as Haley looked at him. "Don't you think so?"

"I don't know, Nathan…that's just so weird. I can't imagine actually living above a pair of criminals. That just doesn't happen in real life." She really did want to believe Nathan, but the whole idea was just so bizarre that she couldn't.

"How do you know?"

"Because. Things that happen on TV and in movies don't really happen." She justified. Criminals didn't just move into the condo below people, it wasn't normal.

"What if it did?" Nathan challenged. There was something weird going on with Nick and Nicki, he just knew it.

"It won't." Haley answered back. "Nick's not some kind of con artist, and that's why you need to be nice to him."

"How do you know he's not a con artist?"

"That's not the point. Even if he was a con artist you would still have to be nice to him." She countered. "If he really was one, then you would have to be extra nice."

"Why is that?" Nathan chuckled. As far as he was concerned, Nick being a con artist was a good enough reason to treat the guy like one.

"Because, I wouldn't want him to get mad and blow your brains out or anything." Haley smiled.

"That's nice." Nathan smiled sarcastically. "I'm glad to know that my wife doesn't want my neighbor to put a bullet through my head."

"Aw, I really don't want that." She pouted playfully.

"Good, because I don't want him to blow your brains out either." He smiled as he picked up his empty ice cream container as well as hers and threw them basketball style into the garbage can.

"That's why you need to be on your best behavior around him. If he is what you think he is, then you need to be nice." Haley smiled.

Nathan looked at her closely. She was right. He really believed that Nick had some kind of ulterior motive, and if that was the case, then Nick was dangerous. If Nick was dangerous, then he should think about lying low around him. He didn't want to end up in any trouble with Nick. "You're right. I don't want to get on that psychopath's bad side."

"I told you so." Haley smiled as she stood up and stretched her arms out. "Why are you so convinced that Nick and Nicki are bad news?"

"Well, let's see, first of all, Nick locked you in his condo with him and wouldn't let me in-" Nathan started as Haley sat back down again.

"But I'm not even sure what happened anymore." Haley said. "I mean, maybe I was just do freaked out by the whole thing that I overreacted?"

"Haley, you did not overreact." Nathan assured her. "I was there. I may not have been inside, but I was there. Nick definitely didn't pull you inside to offer you a glass of milk and a cookie. That guy is evil."

Haley couldn't help but laugh at his explanation. "Maybe you're right…I don't know. Let's just avoid both of them like we've been doing?" Haley suggested.

"Fine by me. As long as you're away from Nick, I'll be happy." Nathan said seriously.

"What was up with what he said today before he fixed the air conditioner?" Haley wondered aloud.

"I knew you didn't like that!" Nathan said triumphantly. "Why didn't you just let me kick his ass?"

"We've already gone over that reason." Haley laughed. "And no, I did not like that comment." It amazed her that someone could have so little respect for a woman that they would say something like that. She knew that guys talked about that stuff all the time, but she had never actually heard it before and the way Nick had said it was just so offensive.

"Yeah, well, neither did I." Nathan admitted. He had some to the conclusion that Nick was just an over all son of a bitch.

"I could tell." Haley laughed. "And what was up with his weirdo obsession with that blanket? You'd think he was looking at gold or something the way he was staring at it."

"Yeah, maybe he's jealous because my baby is going to be much better looking than his." Nathan smirked as Haley shrugged in agreement.

"Speaking of your baby," Haley smiled as she placed an emphasis on 'your'. "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"No." Nathan said shortly. He wanted to find the perfect name for the baby, but that name just hadn't come to him yet. "Have you?"

"No." She sighed. It was becoming increasingly frustrating to not have a name for the little guy. "It'll come. I'm sure of it."

"Just like you were sure that if you close your eyes and wish really hard when you shoot a basketball, it will go in?" Nathan teased.

"Hey! I was only kidding when I said that!" Haley defended herself with a smile. "And you shouldn't be talking Mr. washing the red clothes with the whites is ok."

"One time, Haley. One time." Nathan shook his head. Would she ever let him live that down?

"Yes, but after that one load of laundry I couldn't wear my favorite sweater anymore." She pouted as he rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

As if on cue, a loud rumble was heard in the distance, foreshadowing a heavy rainstorm. "Of course it rains after we get our AC fixed."

"We should probably get going." Haley smiled. "Mr. Scott, would you mind walking me home? I could use the company."

"Well Mrs. Scott, how about to my car?" Nathan played along.

"Even better!" She giggled as she stood up again and reached out to grab his hand. "Hurry up so we will be in the car by the time it starts to rain. We wouldn't want to catch colds now would we?"

"Oh, of course not." Nathan smiled as he took her hand and pulled her down on top of him. "But I'm not motivated to get up without a kiss."

"What if I don't want to give you a kiss?" Haley asked playfully as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck.

"Who in their right mind wouldn't want to kiss me?" He joked as she hit him on the shoulder. "Fine, but with no kiss I guess we'll just sit here all day."

"We?" She laughed back. "I don't think so." She sat up straighter and tried to remover herself from his lap only to feel his arms around her waist tighten. "Nathan, you let go right now. You know that's not fair."

"I don't want to let go." Nathan smirked. "Not until I get a kiss."

This time it was Haley's turn to smirk, she could have fun with this. She brought her hands up to rest on the side of his face and moved her own so that it was just inches from his. "I'm going to stay like this all day."

"Haley." Nathan groaned. "That's not fair." If he moved his arms to pull her to him, she would be able to get up and he would lose. But if she was going to stay this close to him, he was going to go crazy.

"What's not fair?" She asked innocently as she rested her forehead against his. "Oh, you mean this?" She said teasingly as she kissed the corner of his mouth softly, letting her warm lips linger there before pulling back to look in his eyes again.

Nathan couldn't take it anymore. "Damn it" He whispered with a laugh as he removed his arms from her waist and pulled her face down to his own, all the while the rumble in the distance growing louder.


	22. Chapter 22

Hello everyone, I'm here with another chapter :-) First off I want to thank the wonderful people who reviewed. I really do love you all. Your opinions mean a lot to me. I know you are all curious as to what Nick and Nicki are up to, and I think this chapter will really start to fill in the blanks...I hope you like!

P.S. Carol, here's the Laley friendship you asked for... enjoy. ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 22**

"This is all Nick's fault." Nathan mumbled as he lay on the couch under a fluffy green blanket.

"How is this Nick's fault?" Haley laughed as she leaned over the back of the couch to hand him a box of tissues.

"Because, he probably messed up the thermostat on purpose somehow so I would get sick." He pouted as he gladly took the box of Kleenexes from her hand and set them on the table next to him.

"Colds have nothing to do with weather or temperature." Haley giggled. She felt bad for Nathan because he felt so awful, but he was still as amusing as ever.

"Yeah, well, I still think this is because of Nick somehow." He joked as Haley walked around the couch to stand in front of him.

"You need to go to sleep." She chided softly as she sat down on the edge of the couch and let her hand rest on his chest. "Take advantage of the silence while Tim is gone."

"That's very true." He smiled. They had been lucky enough to get rid of Tim for the whole day because he had some kind of deep sea fishing thing he wanted to do with one of his new friends. "But I don't want to sleep."

"Do you need more Tylenol yet?" Haley asked suddenly.

"You just gave me some 2 hours ago." Nathan smirked.

"But I don't want you to feel sick." She pouted. She didn't like seeing him so miserable. This morning he had woken up with a headache and a runny nose, and then a few hours later he had a fever.

"I don't feel that bad right now." He assured her as he reached for another tissue.

"Sure you don't. Just go to sleep." She ordered as she leaned over to give him a quick kiss. Before her lips could get even remotely close to his, his hand flew up to cover his mouth. Haley gave him a questioning look before realizing what he was doing. "Oh, you don't want me to get sick do you?" Nathan shook his head, never removing the hand from his mouth. "That's sweet." She cooed before dropping a soft kiss on his forehead and sitting up again. "I'm leaving so you can sleep."

"What? Where are you going?" Nathan asked before sneezing.

"Lucas's. That way I won't distract you from your sleep." She smiled as she walked over to the door. "When I come back, you better be sleeping."

Nathan groaned as he tried to suppress his smile. Sleep was definitely something he needed, but he didn't feel like sleeping. His face felt tight from the sinus infection he was sure he was getting. _Great._ When he heard the door close signaling that Haley had left, he closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face before grabbing another tissue. "Being sick sucks." He mumbled.

"Hey, anyone home?" Haley said sweetly as she slowly opened the door to condo number 9.

"Yeah, hey Hales, I'm in here." Lucas called from his bedroom. Haley contemplated whether or not she should go in; she didn't want to catch him in the middle of changing his clothes or anything. She then shrugged and walked into the bedroom anyway, he was her best friend since preschool so it's not like she'd never seen him changing before.

"Hey Luke, what's up?" Haley asked as she sat on the end of his bed. She was relieved to find him typing something on his computer.

"Nothing." He said casually as he closed the laptop and looked up at her. "Where's Nathan?"

"He's sick." Haley sighed. She was so glad Lucas was home because if he wasn't she would be bored out of her mind. "But I'm not." She added quickly when she saw Lucas playfully scooting to the other side of the bed.

"That sucks. That he's sick I mean. What does he have?"

"Just a cold." Haley assured him. "Maybe a sinus infection too. He's miserable."

"If he needs any extra Tylenol or something send him over here. Brooke has the whole medicine cabinet packed with stuff like that." Lucas chuckled. When they had first arrived, Brooke had gone to the grocery and come back with about 3 bottles of every over the counter medication. How she was allowed to buy all of it he had no idea. She said she got it all because the pharmacy section was disgusting and if any of them got sick all summer she didn't want to have to go back there.

"We've got plenty of that stuff." She smiled as she laid down on her back across his bed. "Where is Brooke anyway?"

"She went out to lunch with one of her friends from school that's in town for the week." Lucas explained as he laid down too and stared at the ceiling. "She'll probably be home in a couple of hours."

"What about Peyton? Where's she at?" It was a little odd to find both girl missing this afternoon.

"I don't know. I think she said something about Jake." Lucas shrugged.

"Really?" Haley asked excitedly. "How did their date go yesterday? I didn't get a chance to talk to her about it."

"Hales, how would I know about Peyton's date?" Lucas smiled.

"Are you saying that you don't know?"

"No, I know. I just don't know why you would assume I know." Lucas said seriously as Haley started to laugh.

"I just know you so well that I knew you'd know." Haley countered through her giggles causing Lucas to laugh also. "We are so weird."

"I know." Lucas smiled mischievously as Haley burst put laughing again. "So Peyton said her date went well. She said that she and Jake were able to have a few conversations and are going to take things slow to see if they can work it out."

"Really? That's great!" Haley smiled enthusiastically. "I can't wait to talk to her about it. So she's with him right now?"

"Yeah, I think she said she was going with to buy Jenny some new clothes for school in the fall."

Haley nodded in understanding. Jake definitely needed a woman's help in picking out clothes for his daughter. She couldn't even imagine her own dad picking out clothes for her when she was 5. How embarrassing. "And you and Brooke? Did you talk?"

"Yeah we talked. I think we got some things out in the open too." Lucas said as he extended his arms up to rest behind his head. "I think she was afraid that she was losing me because I have these stupid commitment issues."

"What commitment issues?" Haley pried. She had heard Brooke say a few times that Lucas had a small fear of commitment, but had always assumed that if it was true he would tell her himself. _So I guess it's true,_ she thought.

Lucas sighed; it was embarrassing to say it out loud because he had no reason to be afraid of commitment. He just was. "I'm afraid of marriage because it's a permanent thing and nothing in my life has ever been permanent."

"What?" Haley laughed but quickly stopped when she saw he was being serious. "Lucas, lots of things in your life have been permanent. I've permanently been your friend-"

"Until you married Nathan." He corrected which caused her face to fall.

"Is that how you feel? That because I'm married to him I somehow care about you less?" This revelation astonished her because she had no idea that he felt that way.

"No Haley, that's not what I meant." Lucas started. He didn't want to hurt her feelings or anything. He knew that she was busy with being married and being pregnant, but sometimes he felt like he was losing his best friend.

"Yes it is." Haley said sternly as she sat up. "Luke, I'm so sorry if you ever felt like less than my best friend. You mean the world to me and I wouldn't trade you for anything. You know what? We need to do something together, just the two of us."

"Like what?" He laughed.

"I don't know, like go to an arcade or something like we used to do." She smiled. When they were younger they would always walk to the arcade after school on Friday and spend their left over lunch money on games. Then they would save their tickets and at the end of the year trade them in for the biggest prizes.

"Hales, that's a nice thought, but I don't think you want me to embarrass you in Skee-Ball anymore." Lucas grinned jokingly.

"Oh please, I owned you in the Barbie and Ken jet ski racer thing." Haley defended herself.

"The Ken one was defective!" Lucas argued. It clearly wasn't his fault that his Ken jet ski didn't move when he shot the target with water…

"Yeah, whatever you need to believe." Haley smiled as she patted his shoulder soothingly. "We're so going."

"Fine. I guess I can't say no to wasting money on childish games and earning a stylish keychain from it." He shrugged.

"That's the spirit!" Haley encouraged. "Let's go as soon as Nathan's better. I don't want to leave him while he's sick."

"Ok, it's a date." Lucas joked as Haley rolled her eyes.

"Remember that time we actually went on a date?" Haley laughed as she recalled the memory.

"How could I forget? You yelled at me because I didn't pull your chair out for you and that's what 'dating people' do." Lucas chuckled. They had been in the third grade when they went on their first and only date. This date was actually held in Lucas's basement and the food that was served was a few cookies that he managed to steal without Karen knowing.

"Well, that was really rude of you." Haley pointed out playfully. "You sat in the one with the best view of the TV and made me walk all the way around-"

"I was 9!" He said defensively. "And you didn't even say thank you for the cookies."

"Yes I did!" Haley said back incredulously.

"No you didn't. You said 'well, I would thank you for the cookies, but the lame basketball game on TV cancels out my thank you'."

"Oh yeah." Haley smiled as she remembered that. Man, she was a mean third grader. "But I only said that because when I was talking to you about my new Barbie coloring book you turned the volume up on the TV so you couldn't hear me."

"I didn't care about your Barbie coloring book. I cared about that game." Lucas smiled.

"Ugh, men. This is why we never dated after that." She laughed. Lucas was her best friend, but it was obvious that they could never be more than that. After being friends for so long, they tended to get on each other's nerves every so often.

Haley knew that Lucas loved her, and she loved him, but they would never have worked as a couple. They listened to each other for the most part, but they both tended to ignore the little things. That's just the way their relationship was. They were always there for each other no matter what, but they just didn't like to talk about certain topics with each other. Haley preferred to not talk sports with anyone, but if she had to, she would talk about them with Nathan. Lucas hated talking about anything girly like Barbies, dresses, or jewelry, but he would choose Brooke to talk about those things with.

"No, we never dated after that because you kept watching soap operas and wanted me to act like some love struck teenager and bring you flowers." Lucas corrected.

"Nuh uh, we never dated again because you couldn't appreciate my Barbie coloring book. I always knew I needed a man who was fascinated by my coloring book and you simply weren't." Haley smiled as she remembered her third grade year, that was also the year that her oldest brother graduated from high school and the year that she learned the truth about Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy thanks to her sister Taylor.

"Is Nathan fascinated with your coloring book?" Lucas questioned with a laugh. Somehow he doubted that Nathan had even heard about said book.

"Of course he is." Haley grinned. "He just doesn't know it."

"Oh ok." Lucas laughed as he sat up again. "Do you want something to drink? Or eat? We have Oreos."

"What? Lucas Scott, you've been holding out on me! Go get those Oreos right now." She demanded as he laughed and left the room. As he was waiting for Lucas to return, she found herself wondering what he was doing on his computer that he shut down as soon as she came in…

"Ok, do you want the regular or the double stuffed?" He questioned as he tossed two packages of Oreos onto the bed next to her.

"Double stuffed." Haley laughed as if that were obvious. "Do you have any-"

"Milk? Yeah." Lucas smiled as he re-entered the room carrying two glasses of milk.

"It's scary how well you know me." Haley said dramatically as she opened the Oreo container and pulled out one of the chocolate cookies.

* * *

"There you are Nicki, where have you been?" Nick said harshly as Nicki stumbled through the front door of their condo. "I've been trying to get a hold of you since yesterday." 

"I was at a party." Nicki slurred. "Since yesterday."

"I knew I was the smartest one. While you were out getting wasted for a straight 24 hours, I figured some things out about our job."

Nicki groaned at the mention of the word job. Nick could never just relax and have fun could he? "Hey Nick, guess what?" Nick looked at her as if to tell her to go on. "I don't care."

"Yeah, well, you should." Nick said angrily. She needed to start taking this more seriously if they were going to achieve their goal successfully. "If you don't pull it together, we'll never be able to pay off the debt."

"I don't care about that either." Nicki laughed giddily as she walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed another beer out. "It's not like I'm the one who did my job wrong and got us in the debt in the first place."

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is in the gambling world." Nick spat back. "This business is important to the family, and you can bet your ass that if we fail we'll be disowned. Do you know what that means?"

"Again, I really couldn't care less." Nicki smiled as she started to prance into her bedroom, only to be caught by Nick's hand. "Ouch, let go."

"It means that we will never have a place in the business and we will never get any money out of it." Nick explained angrily. He dropped out of high school, all he had going for him was being a bookie.

"Well, I finished high school. Therefore I can get a decent job." Nicki laughed. Working at the nearest fast food place could definitely be considered decent.

"Whatever, I don't need your help." Nick said resentfully. "And when I get this job done I'm going to tell everyone that I did it myself."

"You wouldn't dare." Nicki said as her eyes went wide. If Nick did that, then her name would be worthless in the family.

"I would." Nick smiled sinisterly. "When I find that necklace without your help, it will be the end of you my dear sister."

"I hate you." Nicki said coolly. "I'm going to bed, and when I get up you're going to tell me everything you know."

"Deal, but only if you find a way to sneak into condo 9 in the near future to take a look around." He countered.

"Fine, I'll figure something out."

* * *

Haley silently crept through the front door of her own condo and placed the deadbolt lock as soon as she closed it. She had been in the habit of locking the deadbolt ever since the Nick incident. She took a peek over at the couch and noticed that Nathan's chest was steadily rising and falling, a sign that he was in fact asleep. 

She tried to stifle a giggle when she noticed the pile of wadded up tissues on the coffee table, poor Nathan. She felt bad that he was sick, but she had to admit that he looked really cute sleeping there and occasionally sniffling in his sleep.

Not wanting to wake him, she made her way back into their bedroom and closed the door. She had been meaning to reorganize the closet and now seemed to be the best time. Ever since her shopping spree with Brooke, her closet had become increasingly crowded.

Haley sat down at the bed to get a good view of the mess that was her closet so she could decide what the best way to clean it would be. After staring at it for a minute or so, she decided that they best way to clean it was to put it off and do it some other time. She really didn't feel like cleaning it out anymore.

Then she thought of Nathan. She really wanted to find something to do to make him feel better. That's when it hit her; neither of them had eaten any lunch so she could make chicken noodle soup. She excitedly, but quietly, made her way back into the kitchen and got out a pot, some measuring cups, and a box of chicken noodle soup mix.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, she turned the stove on and added the contents of the package and some water to the pot. Nathan was going to love it. This worked out perfectly because she actually had a craving for chicken noodle soup right now. She set the pot on the stove and then decided that she needed to add some extra noodle.

She moved around the kitchen looking for the uncooked spaghetti that she knew she had stashed somewhere around here. She finally found the box of angel hair pasta and promptly removed a handful to drop into the mixture in the pot. If that didn't turn out to be absolutely delicious, then nothing would. She smiled with satisfaction as she opened the lower cabinet that the spaghetti belonged in and tossed the box back in.

The box hit the wall in the back and landed on the bottom of the cabinet with a slightly echoing thud. Haley looked into the cabinet curiously, it almost sounded hollow. _No, it's not, you're just hearing things in the silence,_ Haley told herself with a quiet laugh. She always heard things that weren't real when it was silent.

She turned her attention back to the pot on top of the stove when it started boiling and she started to stir it. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the sweet smell of the soup filled the room. She absentmindedly stirred the mixture until she felt the strong arms of her husband snake around her and rest on her slightly enlarged stomach. "Hey, what are you doing up?" She questioned as she leaned her head back against his chest.

"I woke up because I needed to blow my nose yet again and I saw you were here." Nathan said as he kissed the top of her head. "I see you've made lunch."

"Yes I have. Are you feeling good enough to eat?" She asked as she removed the pot from the heat and turned the burner off.

"I'm actually not that hungry now, but it smells great." He said sweetly. "I was just going to go lay down in the bedroom so you can watch TV or something."

"Ok, I'll lay with you for awhile. This needs to cool anyway." Haley smiled as she walked with him into the bedroom and watched as he plopped down on his back. She crawled up next to him and laid her head on his chest, making sure to face opposite of his face so she wouldn't catch his cold.

He idly started to run his fingers through the silky locks of her hair that were laying across his chest as he tried to ignore the headache he was starting to get. Damn Nick, this had to be his fault somehow.

"Do you need more Tylenol yet?" Haley asked suddenly as she remembered that it had now been over 4 hours since she gave it to him last time.

"No, I'm fine." He lied. He could have used the Tylenol, but he was enjoying having her here with him too much to let her get up. Besides, he didn't want to make his pregnant wife wait on him just because he had a small cold.

"I'll go get you some more." Haley insisted as she started to sit up. She knew that even if he said he was fine, she should still give him more because he would never admit it if he wasn't fine.

"Haley." Nathan groaned as he grabbed the back of her shirt and gently pulled her back down next to him. "I don't need any yet."

"Promise?" She asked skeptically.

Nathan thought about this for a minute. He didn't want to lie to her. Technically he didn't have a headache yet, he could just feel one coming on…"Yeah, I promise. There's no need for any more Tylenol yet."

"You'd better tell me as soon as you need more." She warned as she lay down next to him, this time her head resting on his shoulder.

"Of course." He replied as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Hey Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"When I was in third grade I had a Barbie coloring book." She started as she watched to see how he would react. Either he would act like Lucas and dismiss it, or he would act like the man she knew he was and give her his full attention.

"Ok." He chuckled. That was one of the most random things that had ever come out of her mouth. "Let's hear about this Barbie coloring book."


	23. Chapter 23

Hello again everyone. Thank you to all of the amazing people who took the time to review, you guys are what motivate me so keep it up! Also, thank you to Ashley for making my week. ;- ) Here's chapter 23...enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 23**

"I can't believe that you beat me every single time on the racecar driving game!" Lucas laughed incredulously as he and Haley walked to the front counter of the arcade to get their tickets counted. "You don't even like to drive."

"Just because I don't like driving doesn't mean that I'm not good at it." Haley giggled as she set her tickets on the glass display case so the teenage girl working there could count them. The girl gave her a weird look before putting the tickets into the counting machine. It was always a little strange when someone older than 20 came into the arcade…

"Oh well, I still dominated at skee-ball." Lucas proclaimed proudly just as he noticed a chubby old man leaning against the door that led to the back room staring at him. "Um, we're just getting our tickets counted." Lucas said uneasily as the old man continued to stare him down.

Haley had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. The man obviously didn't like Lucas for some reason. His worn grey eyes flickered over to Haley for a moment before refocusing on Lucas. An uncomfortable silence developed between the three as the noise of the arcade sounded behind them.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Lucas asked finally as the teenage girl handed Haley a slip of paper that had her number of tickets printed on it and then reached for his pile.

"Where is your ring?" The old man said flatly as he looked into Lucas's eye.

"Ring? I don't have a ring…" What was this old man talking about? He didn't want to be rude, but the guy was making it really hard.

"She has a ring. Where is yours?" The old man asked again. Lucas and Haley looked down at her left hand and then to his and started laughing. Did this man think they were married?

"I'm not married to her." Lucas said in between laughs. The thought of being married to Haley was just too funny.

The old man's eyes went wide as he looked from Lucas to Haley to Haley's stomach. "When I was your age a man stepped up in a situation like this." The man said bitterly.

Haley and Lucas both looked down to her stomach and started laughing again. "I'm married to his brother." Haley explained through her giggles. This was really weird. She couldn't believe that this man had just said that. The man just stared at her, not really understanding. "This is his brother's baby." Haley clarified as her giggles subsided.

Lucas watched as the old man stared at them skeptically. Why would this geezer care anyway? It's not like either Haley or his relationships were any of his business. But then again, senile old men tended to be blunt and bitter, so…

"Sir, can I have your name please?" The teenage girl asked politely as she looked to Lucas. "You have the new highest ticket count for the week."

"Really?" Lucas asked proudly as he looked at Haley who stuck her tongue out at him. "My name is Lucas Scott."

"Lucas huh?" The old man grumbled. "Does he know?"

"Does who know what?" Lucas asked confusedly. What was the creepy old man whining about now?

"Your brother? Does he know?"

"Nathan? I'm not following sir, does Nathan know that I just broke the record of most tickets?" He couldn't wait to claim his prize and then leave, the old guy was driving him crazy.

The teenage girl suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked at Lucas. "Your brother is Nathan Scott, like the basketball player?"

Lucas nodded his head as Haley looked at the girl. No matter how often it happened, it was still weird when Nathan was recognized in public. He was seen as one of the best college basketball players in the country, but to her he was just Nathan.

"Does Nathan your brother know that you're here with his wife?" The old man reiterated as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"Um, yeah…" Lucas trailed off. Seriously, who was this old man and why did he keep asking these ridiculous questions?

"Oh my God, you're Nathan Scott's wife?" The girl asked excitedly as she turned to Haley who only smiled and nodded. "Oh my God, you are so lucky! He is like the hottest guy ever!"

Haley laughed a little because she had to agree, she was pretty lucky. "I'll tell him you said so."

"My name is Ellen. My brother goes to Duke and oh my God he told me and my friends that Nathan Scott was married but we never believed him. I'm so jealous of you right now." The girl rambled. Haley couldn't help but see a little bit of herself in the way that the girl rambled on and on.

"Look man, Nathan knows that I'm here with his wife who also happens to be my best friend, so why don't you just back off?" Lucas suggested nicely to the old man who was still staring at him.

"I can't believe you're lucky enough to be the one to have his children. I would kill to get to do that. Well, maybe not kill, but I would totally pay every single penny that I've ever saved up just to talk to him." The girl said as she stared off into space dreamily. "This is so weird, I definitely didn't know that you were pregnant. And I like, research his life."

"Oh, well, yeah we didn't advertise it or anything." Haley responded. Ok, that was just a little strange that this girl researched her husband's life. It was endearing however that Ellen said she would pay so much to talk to Nathan.

"What's your name again boy?" The old man grunted.

"Lucas." He answered nonchalantly. Hadn't he just told the him that?

"What?"

"Lucas." He said a little louder. _God, get a hearing aid…_

"Pucas?" The old man repeated.

"My. Name. Is. Lucas!" Lucas said in exasperation. This old man was driving him crazy and he didn't even know who he was.

"So when the team goes away for a game, do like get to go on the bus and stay with Nathan in the hotel?" The girl asked as she leaned on the counter.

"I…um…" Did she really have to answer a question like that?

"Never mind, sorry, that was too personal wasn't it? Sorry, I tend to get a little obsessed." Ellen smiled sheepishly. "I'm like freaking out right now because I'm actually talking to Nathan Scott's wife. I'm like the biggest Duke fan on the face of the planet, I love when the players get all sweaty and hot-"

"Ellen, it's Ellen right? My brother in law and I really need to get our prizes and then get home. Nathan has been a little sick for the past week and we need to go check on him." Haley said sweetly. As much as she would love to stay and chat with this overly talkative adolescent, she would much rather get home to her husband.

"Look old man, I don't know what your problem is, but you don't know what you're talking about. Haley is my best friend, nothing more." Lucas said loudly. Someone needed to send the old guy to the loony bin.

"I didn't say nothin." The old man responded just as an old woman came out of the back room to join them.

"Robert! How many times have I told you not to talk to the customers!" The old woman scolded as she grabbed Robert's arm and pulled him towards the door. "I'm sorry about that young man. Robert tends to be a little nosy."

"Uh, no problem." Lucas said in an aggravated tone. What was he supposed to say? Next time don't let him out of his cage?

"Oh totally, sorry I've been getting carried away. I just have one more question though. So my friends and I are always wondering what's wrong with Nathan's hand but we can't find it anywhere. If you could, I would definitely be promoted to most popular girl in our group if you told me." Ellen smiled.

Haley knew what Ellen was talking about. When Nathan burned his hand on the boat 4 years ago, it had lightly damaged some of the nerves in the palm of his hand. Now it acted up every now and then and when he played basketball he had to wear a small bandage on it sometimes. "He burned it a couple of years ago, nothing serious."

"Oh that's good." Ellen smiled. "I'm glad it wasn't some crazy knife accident or something. That's what my friend said. She's totally crazy."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but we need to get going, so…" Lucas started.

"Of course, sorry." Ellen apologized. Lucas always got a little jealous when people talked about Nathan as if he were a god. That's what brothers do, they get jealous.

"It's fine." Haley smiled politely although she was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with the conversation. It was weird the way the teenager was fawning over Nathan, and he wasn't even here. "How much are those plastic swords?"

* * *

Nicki's eyes darted down the hallway as she watched for any sign of a person. She had waited all week for the perfect opportunity to "take a look around" inside of condo 9 and as far as she could tell, no one was home right now. She had seen Lucas leave with Haley earlier this morning and she had also seen Brooke go out, probably to shop. The only unknown was Peyton, but Nicki was assuming that she was too busy playing mommy to her daughter to be in the condo.

She quickly made her way over to the door, removing the bobby pin from her hair. It was at times like these that she really thanked her father for teaching her all of his nifty tricks.

Nick had told her that he saw a blanket in Nathan and Haley's condo that they said Whitey gave to them. This proved that Camilla was indeed from the family that they thought and therefore the necklace had to be hidden around here somewhere. They really needed to find that necklace, if they didn't, the whole family would be screwed.

She lowered the bobby pin to the lock and slowly stuck it in, wiggling it a little to find the right crevice. Just as her bobby pin touched what she knew to be the right spot to unlock the door, she heard movement not only coming from inside the condo, but also from the stairs. "Shit."

She quickly pulled the bobby pin out of the door and ran for the other end of the hallway, the one with an elevator, and pressed the button. "Come on, come on." She could hear the footsteps in the stairwell getting closer and one could assume that the person in the condo was going to open the front door at any moment. The last thing she wanted was to make these people even more suspicious of her and her brother.

Nathan hurriedly ascended the steps as he carried the plastic bag with him. Before Haley left this morning she mentioned being low on milk and needing to go get some, so Nathan had decided to go to the store and get it for her since he was bored sitting at home anyway. When he arrived at the last flight of stairs, he reached his hand into his pocket and fished around for his key as he went up.

When he reached the top, he saw the elevator doors closing. _Maybe Tim was taking the elevator down for something…_He walked over to the door of his own condo and put the key into the lock.

"Are you drunk?" He heard Peyton call from behind him, probably in her own doorway.

"Um, no." Nathan answered confusedly.

"Then why did you just try to get into my condo?" She questioned as she narrowed her eyes on her friend. If he was drunk she was going to have to have a serious talk with him. It was only a little past one in the afternoon…

"What?"

"You tried to open my door." Peyton said in an annoyed tone.

"No, I didn't." Nathan chuckled. "Why the hell would I try to unlock your door when I could have just knocked?"

"Well, if you didn't, then who did?"

"Maybe you were hearing things." Nathan suggested light heartedly. "Haley does that all the time when she's alone."

Peyton thought about this for a second. She had been in her bedroom drawing when she heard what she thought was someone fiddling with the lock on her door. Now that she thought about it, it must have been her mind playing tricks on her. Was it even possible to hear something like that from the bedroom? "You're probably right. What's in the bag?"

"Milk." Nathan answered casually as he opened up his door to reveal Tim playing his Playstation like usual. "Hey Peyton, do you want to come hang out with us for a while? Haley's not here so it's just me and Tim-"

"Say no more, I will gladly come over and save you from Tim's annoying ways." Peyton said dramatically as she closed the door to her condo and followed him into his. She took a seat on the couch next to Tim as Nathan stashed the milk in the refrigerator and brought her over a can of Coke.

"Peyton, where have you been? We haven't seen you in forever." Tim said as he wiggled the joystick on his controller, never taking his eyes from the TV.

"I've been with Jake." Peyton answered with a shrug and a smile as Nathan sat down in the chair next to her.

"Oh, I should have known. This is just like last time." Tim groaned. "Don't you guys ever get sick of each other? You too Nathan, I mean, doesn't it get old being with only one person for so long?"

"No." Nathan and Peyton replied at the same time. "Being with just one person is way more fun that being with a new one every week." Nathan added.

"Yeah right." Tim laughed. "You have to say that because Haley probably has hidden cameras around here somewhere."

Peyton only shook her head as Nathan rolled his eyes. "You know Tim, one of these days you're going to have to grow up." She pointed out.

"Who says?" Tim argued. If he wanted to stay like this forever, then he darn well could. Nobody gets to tell him what to do.

"Never mind." Peyton gave him a fake smile. It was obvious that Tim was going to be stuck in his 15 year old habits for the rest of time. "So Nathan, I was actually put in charge of talking to you about something."

"Oh great, let's hear it." Nathan laughed. "If this costs more than 100 bucks, I'm out."

"Haha, funny." Peyton said sarcastically. "We all want to throw a surprise baby shower for Haley. What do you think about that?"

"She'd love it." Nathan said with a smile. "When are you guys planning this for?"

"In a couple of weeks, Brooke's basically doing all the planning. Lucas is writing something for her, and I'm in charge of getting you in on it and finding out what presents we need to buy." Peyton laughed.

"How can you give a baby a shower if it's not born yet?" Tim asked seriously.

Nathan and Peyton just looked at him. Wow, you had to be pretty stupid to ask a question like that. "Not a shower, Tim, a party."

"Well, why didn't you just say that then?" Tim accused as he went back to his game.

"As I was saying," Peyton said, annoyed by Tim's moronic question that only wasted time. "I need to know what we should all get for her."

"Um, I don't know, you'd have to ask her." Nathan joked. How was he supposed to know everything that they still needed for the baby? It's not like he'd ever had one, or really even been around one, before.

"Nathan, I'm serious. If I don't give Brooke an idea of something to get for the little guy in the next week, she's probably going to bite my head off." Peyton said as she leaned over and smacked his leg.

"Ow, God Peyton." Nathan cursed light-heartedly as he rubbed he leg. "I'll ask her what we still need and then get back to you."

"By tomorrow." Peyton finished for him.

"I'm not going to promise by tomorrow." Nathan corrected. "Being discreet takes time."

"Yeah, whatever. But you better tell me by next week." Peyton huffed. She really didn't want Brooke yelling at her this time next week because she hadn't done her job.

"I will." Nathan assured her as he looked at the clock above the TV. "Haley and Lucas should be home any time now."

"Is that my signal to leave?" Peyton joked.

"Nah, you can stay." Nathan smiled.

"Hey Peyton, can I come to the baby party?" Tim asked without looking at her. His game was more important at the moment.

"Tim, baby showers are only for the mom and her girl friends." Peyton said back. "And why can't you pause your dumb game when you're talking to me?"

"This game is important." Tim defended himself as well as his American Idol game. "And why can't you just make the party for guys and girls?"

"Tim, that's not the way it works." Peyton huffed. She was sure that Brooke would be fine in making the shower co-ed, but she really didn't want Tim there to annoy all of the guests.

"Whatever, I'm going to ask Brooke." Tim retorted.

"We're home." Haley called as she and Lucas walked through the front door. Peyton and Nathan instantly looked at Tim as if to tell him not to say a word. "And we've come baring gifts."

"Sweet, did you get me anything?" Tim called over his shoulder.

"Well, Tim, you would see if you paused the game." Haley smiled as Tim instantly paused the game with his controller and turned around in his seat.

"Let me just say that the only reason we were able to get all of this was because I set the new record for highest amount of tickets." Lucas boasted as Haley elbowed him in the side. "Haley was close behind though." He corrected.

"Ok, Tim, close your eyes." Haley commanded. "And stick out your hands."

"Ok." Tim shrugged as he did what he was told. Haley giddily set a plastic orange sword into Tim's outstretched hands and told him to open his eyes. "Sweet! You got this at an arcade?"

"Uh huh." Haley laughed, she knew Tim would like it, especially the orange color, because he always talked about wishing there was an orange power ranger. "Lucas, give Peyton hers."

"Ok." Lucas put his hand into a brown bag which held all of their winnings and quickly pulled out glow-in-the-dark skull and crossbones earrings.

Peyton laughed as she took them into her hands. "Wow, thanks guys, they're very…original."

"We thought you'd like them." Haley laughed playfully as she looked to Nathan. "Your turn, close your eyes."

"What? Why? Peyton didn't have to close hers." Nathan laughed.

"Well, that's because Lucas forgot to make her." Haley pointed out. "But I'm making you."

"Haley, I'm not going to close my eyes and stick out my hands." Nathan smiled stubbornly.

"Nathan, stop being a fun crusher." Haley said accusingly.

"I am not a fun crusher!"

"Yes you are! You're crushing the fun." Haley smiled playfully. She knew Nathan would give in, probably very soon.

"I don't want to close my eyes." Nathan tried one last time, surrendering when Haley gave him "the look". This look was the one she pulled out every time she wanted him to do something. It was similar to a pout with puppy-dog eyes, but it was more serious and less whiny. Nathan could never say no when she gave him "the look".

Haley clapped excitedly as he closed his eyes and put out his hands with a sigh. She reached into the brown bag, pulled out the trinket that she and Lucas had picket out for Nathan, and then walked over to set it in his hands. "Open your eyes." Nathan did as he was told and opened his eyes to see large bright blue sunglasses with the word 'superstar' spelled out across the top and started to laugh. "You have to wear them to the pool someday." Haley said playfully.

"I don't know about that." Nathan laughed. "Can I ask why you got me sunglasses that say superstar on them?"

"Ellen told us to." Lucas said simply. "I need to go back home and take a shower before Brooke gets back."

"I need to get going too." Peyton said abruptly as she stood up and gave Nathan a pointed look before hurrying to the door followed by Lucas.

"Ok, what was that about?" Haley laughed at the way her friends left so suddenly.

"Who knows?" Nathan smiled as he pulled her onto his lap. It was obvious that Peyton wanted him to ask her what they needed for the baby, but he didn't want to ask yet because it would be too suspicious. "What was Lucas talking about, who's Ellen?"

"Oh, some teenage girl from the arcade that's totally obsessed with you." Haley smiled as she grabbed his hand and started to run her fingers over his palm. "She told me I was lucky to get to have your children."

"Well, you are." He laughed.

"You guys are so weird." Tim mumbled as he un-paused his game.

"It was funny, everyone in that arcade was crazy. The girl was completely obsessed with you and then there was a creepy old man who thought me and Lucas were having an affair." Haley giggled. "I think the girl was more annoying though."

"Why, what did she say?" Nathan smirked, obviously enjoying the fact that she didn't like teenage girls fawning over him.

"Nothing. She said absolutely nothing that wasn't about you." Haley smiled.

"What can I say? I'm so amazing that it's impossible to not talk about me."

"True." Haley smiled as she leaned in to kiss him tenderly. "What did you guys do here while I was gone?"

"Sat here." Tim said nonchalantly as he continued to stare at the TV.

"I went to the grocery store to get the milk you said we needed." Nathan smiled.

"No you didn't! I'm so proud of you!" Haley beamed playfully. Nathan going to the grocery by himself was a first.

"I think it's safe to say that you don't want me to go there alone again though." He smiled back coyly.

"Why is that? I'm thinking about sending you by yourself from now on." Haley giggled. If he had proven he was capable of getting the groceries, then she had no problem sending him.

"Because, one of the employees, I think her name was Carol, kept hitting on me." Nathan shrugged.

"What? Are you being serious?" Haley laughed.

"Oh completely." Nathan smiled. "I told her I was married, but she kept grabbing my arm and dragging me to different sections of the store. I told her I only needed milk, but apparently she thought that meant bread, frozen pizza, and deli meat too."

"Huh, my husband the chick magnet." Haley giggled. "I had no idea you were so popular."

"Of course I am, I'm a superstar, remember?" Nathan smiled as he showed her the sunglasses.

"Yes you are." Haley said lightly before leaning in to kiss him again.

"Get a room." Tim mumbled.

* * *

"Maureen, I'm telling you, I'm not signing unless they up the offer to 10 million." Chris said seriously into his phone. "Yes, I know that's 9 and a half million more than they offered." It was so hard to find good managers these days…

Chris was walking through the parking lot of the condos after retrieving the promotional pictures he had just gotten printed. If he wanted to make it big, he needed some insanely hot pictures to sign and hand out. Suddenly, he heard hushed voiced from behind a nearby car.

Being his natural nosy self, he tip-toed over to the car and looked underneath it to see two sets of feet, one obviously male and one female. He hung up his cell phone on Maureen and strained to hear what they were saying.

"I already told you, I couldn't get in because there was someone in there already." The girl said in an annoyed voice.

"That's ok, I have a feeling it's in condo 10 anyway." The man said gruffly. Was that Nick?

"Why is that?"

"Because, I did some research today and found out some things. Remember when we went to visit Mr. Scott and he said he had found building codes?"

"Yeah." Chris was really confused. Wasn't "Scott" Nathan, Haley, and Lucas's last name?

"Well, I found them. Let's just say there was a lot more done to condo 10." The male voice said quietly.

"So you want to focus on that one?"

"Yeah, but we need to have proof that the necklace is in there before we go looking."

"Yeah, I say we just keep our eyes open and if and when the opportunity presents itself, we'll look." The girl said.

What were they talking about? Whatever it was sounded too boring for a future big time music icon to listen to. With that, Chris got up off the pavement and took the long way around to his own condo. It's not like Nick and Nicki had been talking about anything important.


	24. Chapter 24

Hello again, I'm here with the next chapter. :-) Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are all awesome. Enjoy chapter 24...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 24**

"Nathan, am I fat?" Haley asked in a whiny voice as she looked at herself in a full length mirror. She was wearing a form fitting pregnancy top with jean shorts and she couldn't help but notice that the shorts were extremely tight.

"Uh, is there a right way to answer that?" Nathan answered from the bed where he was laying. She wasn't really _fat_, but she wasn't her normal size either. She wasn't supposed to be her normal size…

"Yes, there is, and you just answered wrong." Haley huffed as she tried to suck her stomach in unsuccessfully. "I think your son wants me to look like a pumpkin."

"Baby, you don't look like a pumpkin." Nathan assured her as he brought his arms up to rest behind his head. Something told him that she was going to have a meltdown right about now.

"Yes I do! If I look so big now, what am I going to do in a couple of months when I'm ready to pop?" Haley yelled in frustration.

Nathan looked at her, amused. She wasn't even that big yet, she was about the size of a normal woman who was six months pregnant, probably a little smaller since she was naturally so petite. "You'll still look beautiful."

"You're just saying that so I forget the fact that you're the one that did this to me." Haley said bitterly as she looked back in the mirror. She wasn't really upset about the extra weight in the front, that weight was expected. However, she was less than thrilled about the weight she was gaining everywhere else. "Look at this Nathan, this isn't the baby, this is me." She said dramatically as she pinched her thigh.

Nathan had to bite his tongue to keep the smile off of his face. Her thigh was the perfect size and she was over exaggerating by pinching less than an inch of skin in between her two fingers. This was the work of those hormones…again. Over the course of the last six months he had grown to both enjoy and despise these hormones. Sometimes they got him into trouble, but other times they just made her look cute as hell. "Haley, you're not fat."

Haley's head jerked over to look at him as her eyes started to fill with tears. _Great_. "So you're saying that I don't look pregnant? That's really nice, Nathan. Now I know you're lying to my face. Perfect. So what else are you lying to me about? Your name _is_ Nathan, isn't it? You didn't lie about that, did you?"

"No, I didn't lie about my name." Nathan smirked. "And you're not fat, you're just pregnant." Haley crossed her arms over her chest and turned back to the mirror. They needed to move this thing out of here because all it did was depress her. "Hey, come here."

Haley did as she was told and walked over to the bed. He stretched his arms out as if to ask for a hug and she smiled before laying down on the bed and snuggling up close to him. Her heart fluttered in her chest when he lightly kissed the top of her forehead. No matter how big she got or how many of these tantrums she threw, he always made her feel beautiful. She took a few moments to calm down and get her emotions under control before speaking. "I'm sorry, I know your name is Nathan."

"Well that's a relief." He joked. That would be a bad sign if his wife didn't believe that his name was Nathan. He suddenly remembered that he still hadn't asked Haley what supplies they still needed for the baby and as of today his time was up. It had been a week since Peyton asked him to tell her what Haley should receive at her baby shower, and if he didn't tell her today, she would most likely be very pissed off. "So, what things do we still need for the baby?"

Haley looked up at Nathan curiously. Where had that come from? "We need a lot." She giggled. Before they came down here they had painted the spare bedroom in their apartment an off-white color so that they could decorate according to the baby's sex. Unfortunately, they hadn't bought any furniture or anything yet. "That reminds me, we really need to set up a day, or maybe a few days, where we drive home to finish the nursery. When summer's over I'll already be almost 8 months along and I don't want to feel rushed when we get back."

"That's probably a good idea." Nathan agreed. "Maybe we can go in a couple of weeks?"

Haley looked at him curiously before nodding her head. Why in a couple of weeks and not this week? She didn't really feel like going this week either, but why would he say in a few weeks instead of next week? "As long as it gets done I'll be happy."

Nathan smiled as he started to stroke her back. If they waited to finish the nursery until after the shower, it would save him a shopping trip, and shopping was one activity that Nathan would gladly avoid if at all possible. "You never answered my question, how much stuff do we still need?"

"Oh babe, you really are clueless when it comes to babies aren't you?" Haley giggled. "The question you should be asking is what don't we need."

Nathan laughed lightly, she was not making his job easy. "Ok, well, we need a crib." Haley nodded her head in agreement as he continued on. "And diapers, and probably a car seat."

"Probably?" Haley questioned with a playful smile. "What, do you plan on letting him ride in your lap?"

"Ok, we definitely need a car seat." Nathan chuckled. "What else…um, little basketballs?"

Haley laughed out loud when he said this; it was practically written in stone that this little boy was going to be an exceptional basketball player when he was old enough, even if his mother couldn't make a basket to save her life. Saying that their baby wouldn't like basketball was like saying that McDonald's was going to start serving healthy French fries, never going to happen. "He's going to need a lot more stuff than what you just mentioned."

"Really?" Nathan thought he had covered all the basic needs in his list. How much stuff could one miniature person possibly need?

"Oh yeah." Haley laughed. It was so cute sometimes how clueless he was about babies. "You forgot to say baby clothes, blankets, bottles, a stroller, a swing, a bouncy seat, a breast pump-"

"A what?"

Haley took one look at his wide eyes and shocked expression before bursting out into laughter again. "You don't know what a breast pump is?" Nathan shook his head as Haley giggled some more. "I think it's kind-of self explanatory don't you?"

"Well, kind-of." Nathan said confusedly. He could guess what the thing did from the name, but why the hell would she need something like that? What did it have to do with the baby?

Haley smiled at his confused look, he was so inexperienced. "Nathan, I need a breast pump so I can make bottles for the baby to drink when I won't be home."

"Oh," That made sense…"It just sounds weird I guess." He shrugged with a smile. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure." Haley laughed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, how are you feeling?" All he knew was that he didn't want to talk about breast pumps anymore.

"Fine, I think my feet are starting to swell up though." She giggled. Her shoes had felt just a tad bit tight this morning, as had everything else.

"Does it hurt?" He asked as he looked down at her stomach. That was a question he had wanted to ask for a while, but always seemed to forget.

"Does what hurt?"

"When he kicks." Nathan clarified. "Does it hurt when he kicks?"

"Only when he kicks on the inside." Haley smiled as she stroked her belly lovingly. The kidney shots that he tended to take every now and then weren't very much fun. "But when he kicks outward to you can feel, it doesn't hurt at all. It kind-of tickles."

Nathan smiled as she snuggled closer into his chest. "James."

"What?"

"I think we should name him James." Nathan explained as she looked up at him with a smile. "I mean, if that's ok with you."

Without a word, Haley grabbed his hand and brought it to her stomach. "I think this is your answer." Nathan laughed when he felt the soft vibrations from the light kicks of his son's foot. "He likes it."

"Yeah."

Haley giggled as she leaned up to kiss her husband. James. Their baby had a name, and that made the realization that she was going to be a mother in a few short months finally take full effect. They still had so much to do before he arrived.

* * *

"Listen Ashley, I told this to Maureen before I fired her, you need to find me a record deal that's worth at least ten million." Chris said in an annoyed voice into the earpiece phone he was wearing as he lay out in a lounge chair by the pool. "Yes, I know that it will be a miracle."

Nathan and Haley walked into the pool area to see Chris chatting away on his phone and decided to take the chairs farthest from his. They didn't feel like listening to him whine about not being famous.

"Ashley… Ash… do you mind if I call you Ash? Ok Ashley, um, all I'm saying is that it's your job to make sure my music gets put out there. If you can't do your job, then I'm going to have to do to you what I did to Maureen." Chris said in a sweet voice as he watched Nathan and Haley set their towels down on a couple of lounge chairs.

"Brooke and Lucas said they were coming down, so they should be here any time now." Haley said as she spread her towel out across the chair and then sat down on top of it.

"What about Peyton?" Nathan questioned. He really needed to tell Peyton what they still needed before he forgot. He already couldn't remember half of things she had mentioned.

"I think she's going to stop down for a little bit, but I think she said she's having dinner with Jake tonight." Haley responded happily. She was ho excited that Peyton and Jake seemed to be on the right track again, she was rooting for them. "She sounded really pissed off on the phone thought."

_Great_, Nathan thought. She was probably pissed off because he hadn't told her yet, which means that when he did tell her, she would be ready to slit his throat.

"No, that's not a threat." Chris explained while rolling his eyes. "Actually, it is. If you don't do your job the way I tell you too, you're going to get fired." He clarified. "All I'm asking is for a multi-million dollar record deal! Jeez, you'd think I'm asking to be made king or something!"

Haley and Nathan looked over when they heard Chris yelling into his phone. "That kid is such an idiot." Nathan said under his breath.

"Make it happen, Ashley." Chris said in conclusion before pressing a button on the earpiece to turn it off. He then struggled for about 5 minutes to get the earpiece off of his ear. "Hey guys!" He waved.

"Haley, don't wave, maybe he'll take the hint and leave." Nathan suggested in a low voice. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Chris Keller.

"Nathan, that would be mean." Haley scolded as she lightly waved back to Chris with a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Ok, well, you'd better hope he doesn't come over here."

As if on cue, Chris got up out of his seat and walked over to where the couple was sitting. "Well, if it isn't the long lost Scotts. I haven't seen you since…um…a long time ago."

"I knew we should have just moved back home." Nathan grumbled.

"Haley, wow, you've put on some weight." Chris said as she looked at her.

"I'm pregnant you jerk." Haley said as tears started to form in her eyes again and Nathan gave Chris a mean look.

"I know." Chris said slowly. Her being pregnant didn't change the fact that she had gained weight. "So get this, I fired my manager, Maureen, and hired this new girl, Ashley, and I told Ashley that she had to get me a 10 million dollar record deal. Then Ashley said that it was impossible and so I threatened to fire her. Ok, so get this, then she quit!"

"Fascinating." Nathan said monotonously.

"But, I'm pretty sure that she was joking, so I just told her to find me a good deal and then hung up." Chris shrugged. Ashley was turning out to be a piece of work, maybe he should switch back to Maureen? But then again, Maureen was old and wrinkly and Ashley was young and had no spider veins. Letting Ashley stay was a better idea.

"When are Brooke and Lucas going to be down here?" Haley asked to no one in particular as she looked at the gate. As soon as someone new got here she wouldn't have to listen to Chris talk anymore.

"Brooke and Lucas are coming down here? Man, it feels like I haven't seen them in forever." Chris said. "The last time I saw them was a few weeks ago when they were walking together on the beach. I was going to go say hi, but then these crazy obsessed fans just came up and were begging me for an autograph…" He trailed off.

Haley nodded in understanding while trying to hold her tongue. Nathan had more fans then Chris did, she was sure of that, and Nathan wasn't even famous.

"So Nathan, remember that one time that we went putt-putting together?"

"You mean the time that you tried to make a bet to win a date with Haley?" Nathan asked bitterly.

"Hey now, that was a joke." Chris smiled. "When I won, I simply won an invitation to your party."

"But you cheated." Haley pointed out. Winners don't cheat.

"Oh yeah…well, that's in the past now." Chris smiled said happily as he took a seat on the other side of Haley. "So what have you guys been up to these past couple of weeks?"

"None of your business." Nathan muttered. Haley kept her mouth closed because she agreed with him. She didn't feel that Chris needed to know what they had been up to.

"Ok, well, fine." Chris huffed. Nathan was always such a stick in the mud, he didn't like to have fun. Sure, they had met at a party, but Nathan's behavior at said party would hardly be classified as fun-loving. "So I overheard Nick and Nicki talking a week ago, they're really weird."

At this, Nathan and Haley both looked directly at him, wondering what he could have heard and if it was important. "What did they say?" Haley asked in a low voice, just in case Nick or Nicki was lurking somewhere close by.

"I don't really remember." Chris shrugged. How come they didn't pay attention to his incredibly exciting stories about the famous people he'd met, but as soon as he mentions Nick or Nicki, they were all ears?

"You said that they're weird, so what did you hear that's weird?" Nathan asked in the same voice that Haley had used.

"I don't know, they said something about condo 10 and a 'Mr. Scott'." Chris shrugged as if that information was completely worthless. Both Nathan and Haley's eyes went wide. Nick had always called Nathan just 'Nathan', therefore, 'Mr. Scott' had to be Dan. Of course, they were probably many other Scotts in the area, but as soon as Chris had said those words, both of them knew that he was talking about Dan.

"What did they say?" Nathan asked eagerly. Why the hell would Nick and Nicki be talking about his dad and his condo?

"I don't know." Chris shrugged again. "I got bored and left. But I got the impression that they're looking for something."

"Looking for something?" Haley repeated slowly. What could they be looking for that had something to do with Dan and their condo? Suddenly, images of Nick and the baby blanket Whitey had given them flashed through her head. Was there something special about that blanket?

"What the hell?" Nathan muttered under his breath. If Chris was telling the truth and Nick and Nicki really were looking for something and their search involved both his dad and their condo, something bad was undoubtedly going to happen.

"Hey guys." They all heard the bubbly voice coming from the gate and instantly knew it was Brooke. Haley smiled and waved to her friend before tapping Chris's shoulder as if to tell him to move so Brooke could have that lounge chair.

"Hi Brooke." Haley uttered happily. Their conversation with Chris had been… interesting, especially the part about Nick and Nicki, but she had no real way of telling of he was lying or not. "What took you guys so long, I thought that you were coming right down when I called."

"Yeah, well, I had to wait for my toenails to dry." Brooke explained. "Nathan, Peyton wants to talk to you."

"Ok, where is she?" The mean look that Brooke was giving him did not go unnoticed by Haley who couldn't help but wonder why Peyton would want to talk to Nathan and couldn't do it in here.

Brooke pointed out the gate and Nathan got up to go. Haley watched him exit the pool area curiously. He seemed to know why Peyton wanted to talk to him without even asking Brooke.

Once Nathan stepped outside the gate, he saw Peyton sitting on a nearby bench. Her arms were crossed as were her legs, and she looked less than thrilled with him. "Ok, I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you what we still need for…the baby, but-" He had to stop mid-sentence in order to keep from spilling the name they had picked to Peyton. They had both agreed that they were going to keep his name a secret until he was born.

"You better be sorry." She hissed. "Brooke was freaking out on me this morning because I didn't know yet."

"Well, you could have reminded me sometime during the week." Nathan defended himself.

"I didn't think you would forget." Peyton countered. "And besides, I didn't want to tip Haley off about the shower."

"I'm sorry." Nathan apologized again. "But I asked her this morning and we need a crib, a car seat, baby clothes…a stroller…um…diapers." He was having some trouble remembering everything that Haley had told him earlier. _Damn it, I knew I should have written it down while Haley was in the bathroom this morning…_

"You don't even have a crib yet?" Peyton asked incredulously. Wasn't the baby due in like 3 months? They weren't even going to be home for almost another two months.

"We're going to drive up home in a couple of weeks to start getting everything in order." Nathan said defensively.

"Ok, well, I was talking to Brooke this morning and she thinks it would be a better idea for you to come to the store with us when we buy Haley's presents so you can show us what kind of stuff she wants and what would match the nursery and things like that." Peyton said flatly. She was still a little mad at Nathan for forgetting to ask Haley until today. How hard was it to ask your wife what supplies you still needed to buy before your son arrived?

"What? So I have to go shopping with you two?" Nathan whined. Wasn't the point of him asking Haley what they still needed so that he wouldn't have to go shopping? "The dads don't normally have to do that for the showers."

"Yeah, well, normally the moms are registered somewhere, but not Haley. So that's why you have to help." Peyton laughed. She knew how much Nathan hated to shop and she had a feeling that looking at baby supplies all day wasn't really too appealing to him.

"Then I'll just tell her to register somewhere." He shrugged.

"No!" Peyton said firmly. "Then she'll know we're having a shower for her. You're just going to have to suck it up and come shopping."

Nathan groaned. He wouldn't mind picking out all of the baby things with Haley, but he was dreading having to do it with Brooke and Peyton. They were obviously going to take him to many different stores because they had to see all of the options before buying the best one. _Great._ "So when are we going shopping?"

"Sometime during the week, I think it will just be you, Brooke, and Lucas. I got put in charge of keeping Haley occupied while you're away." Peyton smiled. She never had any say in her jobs.

"Really? How do you plan on pulling that off?" Nathan laughed. Ever since Ellen at the arcade and Carol at the grocery had been all over him, she had been extra clingy. Who could blame her though? She was married to a 'superstar'.

"Easy, I'm going to take her to the spa." Peyton beamed. Not only did going to the spa keep Haley away from the other three, but she got to enjoy facials, foot massages, and manicures all day.

"Now that might work." Nathan agreed with a laugh. Haley was a sucker for the spa. Just the mentioning of the word got her excited. Nathan used to think that she loved going to the spa to get massages and her nails done and all that, but she had told him a few years ago that the real reason was because she loved the way she felt when she left. She said she always felt really relaxed and confident when she left that she would go there for that reason alone.

"It might, or it will?" Peyton said playfully. She also knew how much Haley loved the spa, that's why she chose it as their destination.

"Oh it will." Nathan assured her as he chuckled. He couldn't imagine Haley turning down a trip to the spa for much of anything. Nathan looked up when he heard a car start in the parking lot. He immediately noticed Nick backing his monster pick-up truck out of the parking lot and remembered what Chris had said.

He wasn't sure if he should trust Chris, it was obvious that the guy thrived on attention, but it might be a bigger risk to not trust him. What if Chris was telling the truth? What did that mean? One thing was for sure, what Chris had claimed to overhear was extremely unsettling. Something was off about those two, and Nathan was sure that it was something bad.

If Chris was right, and Nick and Nicki were talking about his dad, then that right there was proof enough that they were up to no good. Dan was in jail for a reason. There was one way to find out if Dan was involved, and that was to find a way to see if Nick and Nicki ever visited him in jail. If they had, then he would know that he wanted everyone he cared about far away from them.


	25. Chapter 25

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good weeked. Mine was very busy and that's one of the reasons that this chapter is a little late...sorry. Ok, so this chapter is dedicated to everyone who reviewed. I love you all. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 25**

"I'm so glad I let you talk me into this." Haley said happily as she and Peyton were guided to the section of the spa where they were going to get their nails done. They had already had their facials and their massages, and now the only thing left was their nails.

"Hales, I told you this was a good idea. We both needed a day to just relax." Peyton smiled. _And I needed a way to get you away from Nathan, Brooke, and Lucas._ They both sat down in the chairs that they were led to and put their feet up on the platforms.

"Hello ladies, my name is Missy." A brunette woman smiled politely as she approached them and took a seat across from Haley. "And this is Kelly." She said as she introduced the younger girl next to her who sat down across from Peyton. "Did you both decide what colors you want on your toes?"

"I want black." Peyton spoke up quickly, earning curious looks from both Missy and Kelly as well as Haley. Haley thought she was getting over the whole emo look, she had even see Peyton wearing yellow the other day. "What? Black will match my sandals."

"Ok," Haley laughed. "I'll just have a French manicure." She had many different colors of sandals, unlike Peyton who only owned black, and she wanted her toes to match everything she wore.

"Ok, you girls feel free to talk while Missy and I paint you nails." Kelly encouraged sweetly.

"Thank you Kelly." Peyton smiled before looking over at Haley. "So you'll never guess what happened on my date with Jake last night."

"Peyton, wait, you really need to rewind and tell me about every date you've been on with him in the last few weeks. I feel like I never get to talk to you." Haley pouted playfully. It seemed like as soon as Peyton and Jake decided to try again, Peyton had been around less and less and therefore Haley had no idea where her relationship with him was like or where it was at.

"We've been taking it slow." Peyton informed her with a small smile. "Just coffee here and there, dinner a few times, stuff like that."

"Ok, then what happened on your date last night that you are so eager to tell me?" Haley questioned with a laugh. Obviously it was something more exciting that drinking coffee together.

"Well, he drove me back to the condo and walked me upstairs to the door and everything-"

"Wait, where was I? I should have at least heard you or something so I could eavesdrop." Haley joked.

"You were probably sleeping; it was like 12:30." Peyton laughed, amused that Haley had just admitted to wanting to listen in on her conversations with Jake. That really shouldn't surprise her though; she had opened the door many times in the last few weeks to find Brooke standing mysteriously close by.

"Yeah, I was sleeping." Haley giggled as she remembered the night before. She had found a documentary about pregnancy on TV and had made Nathan watch it with her. The last thing she remembered seeing was the woman at a doctor's appointment before everything went black. She woke up quite a few hours later to find her head on Nathan's lap and his head propped up against the back of the couch. That was the last time she ever watched a pregnancy documentary, it had put both of them to sleep before the woman even reached the third trimester.

"Ok, well, we had a moment." Peyton said excitedly. She couldn't believe that she hadn't told Haley this earlier, this was a major development! You have to be at a certain point in your relationship before you can have a moment.

"A moment? What's a moment?" Haley questioned confusedly as she felt the cool polish being applied to her toes.

"Haley James Scott you did not just ask me that." Peyton laughed incredulously. Surely she knew what a moment was, how could she not?

"No, I really don't know what you're talking about." Haley said with a short laugh. It seemed that Brooke was rubbing off on Peyton. Brooke was the hopeless romantic of the group and only she would call an event a "moment".

"A moment, you know, like a moment in time where you just look into the other person's eyes and everything around you stops." Peyton explained. "We totally had a moment. It was amazing."

Haley watched her friend stare off into space with dreamy eyes and couldn't help but smile. She loved seeing Peyton this happy and she was really hoping that she and Jake worked things out. She didn't know Jake all that well, but she did know that she had never seen Peyton happier than the times she was with Jake and that had to mean something. "So, a moment is like what happens before you kiss someone?"

"Yes!" Peyton responded enthusiastically. She knew her friend had known the answer deep down. "But Jake and I didn't kiss."

"Oh, that must have been awkward." Haley mumbled playfully.

"What? Why would it be awkward?" Peyton smiled. The fact was that it had been a tad bit awkward, but the awesomeness of the whole thing far outweighed it.

"Because, you were just standing there staring into each other's eyes, which almost always means you're going to kiss, and then you just don't kiss? That would be awkward." Haley laughed.

"Are you telling me that you and Nathan never just stare at each other without kissing?" Peyton asked. Everyone has moments, she was sure that Haley and Nathan had had plenty of them too.

"Of course we do, but we're not at a pivotal stage in our relationship. He's already stuck with me." Haley answered as she flashed her left hand in the air showcasing her two rings. "I just think it would be awkward to stare into Nathan's eyes if I wasn't really sure where the relationship was at."

"Ok, so it was a little awkward." Peyton conceded with a laugh. "But it was just exciting because Jake and I haven't had a moment for over a year and I don't know…it was cool." She sighed as she looked off into space.

"That's really cool." Haley reassured her. She loved having those "moments" with Nathan. It was during those brief seconds that she was best able to look into his eyes and see his soul. Granted, she was pretty good at being able to read him all the time, but when they were just looking at each other like that it was as if she could see exactly what was on his mind. Haley hadn't even noticed that she had started to slightly shake her foot mechanically until Missy put her hand on the back of it to steady it. "Oh my gosh!"

"I'm sorry, is there something wrong?" Missy looked up at her with large shocked eyes. Haley had instinctively pulled her foot away as soon as the girl's hand touched it. Kelly and Peyton were both now staring at Haley too, as was half of the spa.

"My bad, sorry about that, my feet are very…sensitive." Haley smiled as her face turned bright red. Well that was embarrassing. Ever since she was a baby her feet had been very ticklish and everyone who was close to her knew it. Nathan even used it to his advantage sometimes, he knew that she couldn't stand it when anyone tickled her feet and would willingly do anything he asked in order to stop him.

Missy smiled knowingly as Haley brought her foot back up to the platform and then began to talk to Peyton about something. They had quite a few customers with ticklish feet every day, she had learned to deal with it.

"Ok, you're all done. Do you want the same color on your hands?" Kelly asked Peyton who inspected her toes.

"Sure, and I just want to say that you did an excellent job on my toenails. It's so hard to find a good pedicurist these days." Peyton said truthfully as she looked at Haley who nodded in agreement.

"Thank you." Kelly answered sweetly before turning Peyton's chair around so she could put her hand on the table where it was in easier reach of the small black brush.

"You know Hales, your toes would probably be done too if you hadn't freaked out because she out her hand on your foot." Peyton teased as she looked to the side at her friend.

"Shut up Peyton." Haley smiled with a shake of her head.

* * *

"Brooke, I'm ninety-nine percent sure that we've been to this store already." Lucas grumbled as he and Nathan followed Brooke around the Babies R Us store that they had just entered. They had been shopping since about ten o'clock this morning and so far the only thing they had gotten was one baby outfit which happened to have a basketball print on the fabric and a pack of 6 bottles.

"Broody, trust me, we haven't. We were in the Babies R Us that's on the other side of town, therefore, this is a different one." Brooke concluded as she led them down the baby crib isle. "So, Nathan, see anything that Haley would like?"

"Um, yeah, that one." Nathan said as he pointed to a light brown wooden crib.

"What? I guarantee that no mother would ever want their child sleeping in that ugly bed. Look at the color, it would match absolutely nothing." Brooke said as she turned back to the boys who were now looking around the isle in boredom. "Nathan Scott, you pointed to a random crib, didn't you?"

"Brooke, I'm sure Haley would like whichever crib we end up with." Nathan said in frustration. He had seen probably close to fifty cribs today and they had all started to blend together after about three.

"Men." Brooke huffed. "You don't even care that whichever crib we pick is the one that your son will have to sleep in for the next couple of _years_?"

"Brooke, I'm sure he doesn't really care either." Nathan smiled. Brooke was way more into this shopping thing that he and Lucas combined. He'd even venture to say that she was making a bigger deal over the crib than Haley would.

"You're right. And I think this one's perfect, so we're just going to go with this." Brooke smiled sweetly as she pointed to a hot pink colored bed with heart shaped spindles.

"Like hell we are." Nathan said quickly. He may not care if his son slept in an oak crib or a mahogany crib, but he definitely cared if the thing was pink. No pink cribs. And no hearts.

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere." Brooke cheered. "So we all agree that baby boy Scott will not be sleeping in a pink crib?"

"Yes." Both of the men said adamantly.

"Good, so we can mark that one off of the list." She smiled brightly. "Now we only have every other crib we've seen today still on the list."

"Great." Lucas mumbled sarcastically as Nathan gave him a look that said he agreed. Crib shopping was way to strenuous, why couldn't they just order one over the internet?

"Brooke, what about this one?" Nathan suggested, trying to hide his tired voice as he pointed to a simple but elegant wooden crib.

Brooke walked over to Nathan, closely eying the crib in front of him. It was classy so Haley was sure to like it, but it wasn't to old fashioned. The color was just deep enough that it would match just about anything, but not too dark that it looked black. "Huh, I actually like this one."

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, both Nathan and Lucas looked at each other confused. They had thought it was impossible for her to say the phrase 'I like'. "I like it too Brooke. I think it's perfect for the little guy." Lucas offered hopefully.

"I don't know…maybe we should check to see what else they have before we settle for this one?" Brooke said it out loud, but it was more for herself to hear than the guys.

"No, this one's the one." Nathan said firmly. He really did like the crib, but he also didn't want to look at another fifty so this one looked gorgeous in his eyes.

"Are you sure? Because I'm sure they have something that's more expensive that is just as good-"

"Brooke." Lucas started. "We've spent half of a day looking at baby beds, this one will do fine. I say we move on to the next thing on your list."

Brooke took another look at the crib and decided that the boys were right, this bed was beautiful. The only thing that concerned her was that it wasn't the most expensive bed in the store, and where she came from, the more it cost the better it was. Therefore, there had to be something wrong with it. "Excuse me."

Nathan and Lucas watched as Brooke grabbed a hold of a passing by employee's arm and dragged her in front of the crib. That was going to be interesting. "What's your name?" Brooke asked in a sweet voice.

"Uh, Jessica." The girl replied uneasily. This crazy brunette was still holding onto her arm… "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, I need to know what's wrong with this crib." Brooke said bluntly as both of the guys groaned and rolled their eyes, only to receive a death glare from her.

"Um, there's nothing wrong with it ma'am." Jessica replied confusedly.

"Yes, there has to be something wrong with it if it's so cheap so tell me what it is!" Brooke snapped.

"Brooke, 350 dollars is not cheap." Nathan pointed out. This crib was actually one of the more expensive ones they had seen.

"Well, it's not the most expensive." Brooke retorted. "And if it's not the most expensive, then there must be something wrong with it."

"There is nothing wrong with it." Jessica said calmly as Brooke finally released her grasp on her arm. "It's just on sale this week, hence the sale sing."

Brooke looked above the crib and sure enough there was a bright orange 'sale' sign. "Oh. Great, we'll take one of these." Nathan and Lucas silently cheered as Brooke talked to Jessica about when she needed it delivered and Jess wrote it all down on her clipboard.

"Is that all for you ma'am, or do you need help with something else?"

"Yes actually, I need to know where the breast pumps are." Brooke said right before Lucas gave her a weird look.

"Wait a second, what the hell is a breast pump?" Lucas asked, not even trying to hide the appalled look on his face.

"Are you serious? You don't know what that is?" Nathan laughed tauntingly. He really shouldn't have been laughing since he hadn't known what it was until a few days ago when Haley had enlightened him, but he loved making Lucas feel like an idiot. It was one of his old habits that he never really got over.

"Uh…no." Lucas said confusedly. He then looked at the three faces surrounding him, all not wanting to be the one to tell him what the object was. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know."

"Great, so where are they?" Brooke asked impatiently. They had already spent most of the day on finding a crib and they needed to purchase a lot more baby supplies in the next hour. Peyton had guaranteed that she and Haley would be at the party until 3:00, but any time after that was iffy. It was now 2:00 giving them only an hour to buy everything else they needed.

"Um…Emily!" Jessica called out just as another girl walked by. The girl, who was wearing the same exact khaki pants and red vest, stopped suddenly at the sound of her friend's voice and walked over to them. "Would you mind taking them to the breast pumps?"

Emily looked behind her at the two handsome guys and one pretty girl. "Yeah, sure I'll take them."

"Thanks Em." Jessica smiled before hurrying off.

"So yeah, I'm Emily. If you'll all just follow me…" She grabbed Lucas's hand with one of her own and motioned for the others to follow with her other one.

Brooke watched Emily with an amused smirk on her face. The girl looked to be about 18, give or take a year, and yet she was blatantly hitting on Lucas. Ok, maybe she wasn't hitting him, but she might as well have been. I mean, what kind of saleswoman grabs the customer's hand? This Emily girl was so not getting any compliments from her.

Once they reached the correct isle, Emily started to show them the different types of breast pumps. Brooke looked on in fascination as Lucas and Nathan uncomfortably focused on the other side of the isle which held diapers. Nathan couldn't believe that there were so many different sizes. Why did the size 7 extra large look so big? That was practically a diaper for an old man.

"So, are you excited about the baby?" Emily smiled as she came up behind Lucas, running her hand up and down his arm.

"Um, yeah?" Lucas answered uncomfortably. Why was this girl practically hanging off of him and why did she ask him if he was excited about the baby? It's not like he was the dad.

"You don't sound too convinced." Emily smiled seductively as she stepped around so she was in front of him. She glanced at Brooke to make sure she was still preoccupied with the large variety of breast pumps.

"Well, I'm not the father…" Lucas trailed off as he removed Emily's hand from his arm.

"Oh you're not? That's great, then how about we go grab a drink sometime?" Emily asked softly as she started to rub his arm again.

"Uh…" Lucas was taken off guard by her proposal since it was incredibly forward, and how old was this girl anyway? She was definitely not old enough to drink. Not legally at least.

"Excuse me Emily, would you mind taking your hand off of my boyfriend?" Brooke said in a sweet but sarcastic tone.

Nathan watched with a smile as Brooke and Emily got into a mini cat fight. This was so like Brooke, as soon as someone gets within two feet of Lucas or anyone else she loves she's all over them. Losing interest once they started to call each other whores, Nathan slowly walked down the aisle looking at everything that lined the shelves. He had never realized how many things there were for babies. He stopped in front of the pacifiers and chew toys. Some of them looked like something a dog would chew on and Nathan couldn't help but promise himself that James would never put one of those in his mouth.

James. They had chosen the name a week ago and still neither of them had broken their promise to not tell anyone. At least, as far as he knew neither of them had broken it. Over the course of the past week, he and Haley had been trying to think of the perfect middle name, but they had hit a minor road block with that one. He didn't mind not knowing the middle name yet though, they still had a few months and he was content that they were able to settle on a first name.

"Oh my God, I cannot believe that you just called me a bitch you bitch." Brooke yelled, forgetting that they were in the middle of a baby store. "I am so talking to your supervisor."

"Fine, this job sucks anyway." Emily huffed as she walked past Brooke who only stared at her with her mouth agape.

"I can't believe that little girl just hit on you and then when I nicely told her that you were taken, she verbally attacked me!" Brooke said loudly.

"Brooke, it wasn't that big of a deal…" Lucas trailed off when he saw her eyes filled with fire turn on him. "I mean, she was way out of line."

"I know she was! Nathan, let's go, we're leaving." Brooke called out in a very angry voice. She couldn't believe that first off all, the girl was practically a child. Lucas had to be at least 3 years older than her! Ok, three years wasn't that much older, but the girl was a total slut!

"Brooke, we still have at least another half an hour before Haley gets home." Nathan didn't necessarily want to stay and shop anymore, but he sure as hell wasn't taking another whole day to do this.

"I know that. But I don't want to shop here anymore." Brooke said indignantly. "And that's exactly what I'm going to tell the manager, excuse me."

Nathan and Lucas watched her walk down the isle towards the customer service desk before looking back at each other. "I don't even get what happened." Nathan shrugged. Girls always overreacted about everything.

"So, that Emily girl was being a little touchy feely, Brooke didn't like it, a few nasty words later and Emily is about to lose her job and we are about to leave here without half of the things we came here for." Lucas summed up as Nathan nodded in understanding.

"All I know is I'm not coming back out here again. You guys are going to have to do it on your own." He stated firmly. Not only would he not come, but it would be hard to distract Haley for long enough since they had already used the spa.

"Hey, you can't leave me alone to shop with Brooke!" Lucas whisper yelled for fear that his girlfriend, who was in a bit of a bad mood right now, would hear him.

"Sorry man." Nathan said apologetically as his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out, hoping it wasn't Haley wondering where he was, and noticed that the number was one that he didn't recognize. "Hello?"

"Mr. Scott? This is Kevin Langston from the federal penitentiary in Charlotte." The voice on the other end said.

Nathan instantly tensed a little bit. A few days ago he had called Kevin to ask who all had visited his father in the past month or so. Kevin, of course, had said that Nathan wasn't supposed to be able to access information like that, but since he knew him so well he would call in a few favors and see if he couldn't let him see the visitation records. Now Kevin was calling him back… "Hey Kevin, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, about your request. I had to run a background check on you in order to let you see the records, I hope that's ok?"

"Yeah, sure." Nathan really didn't care if Kevin ran a background check on him, he had nothing to hide. He could run a background check on anyone he wanted if it would help him find out if Nick or Nicki had been to visit Dan.

"Ok, well, unfortunately, you had quite a few speeding tickets on your record and my buddy in the department where the visitor's log is kept wouldn't give up the sign in sheet." Kevin said apologetically.

"Oh." This was not good. If there was no way for Nathan to tell if either of them had been to see Dan, there was no way for him to tell if they were in fact dangerous. "Check Haley."

"Excuse me?" Kevin asked confusedly.

"Run a background check on Haley and tell your friend that she's the one that wants the records." Nathan suggested hopefully. He was willing to bet that Haley's record was squeaky clean.

"Nathan, I don't know if-"

"Please Kevin, this is important." Nathan assured him.

Kevin sighed on the other end before answering. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Nathan smiled before they both hung up their phones. He dropped his phone back into his pocket before looking up to Lucas staring at him suspiciously.

"Why are you getting a background check run on Haley?" He asked bluntly.

Nathan sighed, the last thing he wanted was Lucas to be suspicious of him and not the neighbors. "It's a Nick and Nicki thing."

"Ok, well, do you mind telling me what it is?" Lucas questioned in an agitated voice. If Nathan knew something, Lucas wanted to know too.

"Not here." Nathan said quietly as Brooke came up behind them.

"Ok, so that Emily bitch is so fired and we are so out of here. Let's go." Before either of them could reply, she turned around and they followed her out of the building. Lucas watched Nathan carefully. If he knew something about Nick or Nicki, then he had the right to know as well. One thing was for sure, Nathan was going to tell he what he knew, whether he liked it or not.


	26. Chapter 26

Wow, I am so sorry that this took so long...I feel terrible. I would blame a few naliens and their commentaries, but I'm going to own up to the wait and confess that it's because I'm lazy. :-( Anyway, thank you all for the awesome reviews...I totally don't deserve all of the nice things you say. With that in mind...here's chapter 26.

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to Ashley because it's her birthday (yay!) and Kirstie because she's sick. (go see a doctor!).

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 26**

"So then what happened?" Haley asked with a laugh.

"I pushed Tim into the lake." Nathan shrugged with a smile. He and Haley were sitting on the couch together and he was telling her about one of the times he had gone camping with the basketball team back in high school.

"Nathan! That was not nice." Haley scolded playfully.

"Haley, he cut holes in the only pair of pants that I had brought!" Nathan defended himself as she snuggled her face farther into his chest and he absentmindedly started playing with the long locks of honey blonde hair that were cascading down her back.

"That wasn't nice either." Haley assured him. "So, when do you want to drive home to finish the nursery?"

"Uh…" Nathan had not been expecting that question at all and he wasn't sure how to answer it without making her suspicious of the baby shower. Brooke had decided that it would be in about a week and had even rented out a party room of some sort at Haley's favorite restaurant. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know." She giggled. When you said you pushed Tim into the lake, the baby started kicking and I guess that made me think of it."

"That's my boy." Nathan smiled proudly. "He already knows that Tim is a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Nathan." Haley scolded. "He can hear you."

"Oh yeah, my bad." Nathan laughed as he kissed the top of her head lovingly. "Hales, I need to talk to you about something."

Sensing that what he had to say was serious, she suddenly became a little worried. "Sure, what is it?"

"You know how Chris said something about Nick and Nicki going to visit a Mr. Scott?" Nathan said quietly. He wanted with all his heart to believe that this Mr. Scott was not his father, but something inside of him knew it was true.

"Yeah." Haley watched as his brow furrowed in deep thought. She knew that he thought that this Mr. Scott was probably his father because that's what she thought too. She also knew that thinking that Nick and Nicki could have had any sort of reason to visit Dan in jail was probably making him very concerned.

"Well, I called Kevin from the jail and asked if I could see the visitation records." Nathan started as Haley nodded in approval. Finding out if Nick and Nicki had actually been to see Dan was the first step they needed to take. "Kevin said he had to run a background check on me in order to get me the clearance to see them."

"Ok, well, that shouldn't be a problem." Haley laughed. "It's not like you have a criminal record or anything. Wait, you don't have a criminal record or anything, do you?" She joked.

"No, I don't." Nathan laughed lightly before continuing. "But apparently I had one too many speeding tickets on my record."

"First of all, I told you that speeding all the time was going to get you into trouble some day." She smiled as she reached her hand up to run it along the side of his face. "And second of all, what does that mean? That you can't see the records?"

"Not necessarily." He responded as he looked at her. "I sort of told Kevin he could run a background check on you."

"Oh." She let her hand drop from his face. She didn't mind if Kevin had to run a background check on her, she had nothing to hide, but why was this the first time she heard anything about it?

"I hope that's ok. I mean, I didn't get a chance to ask you because you were at the spa when he called-"

"Wait, that was three days ago." Haley pointed out confusedly. "I don't understand, why didn't you tell me before now?"

"Because, I don't know, because I didn't want to worry you I guess." Nathan confessed sheepishly. She had told him many times that she wanted him to tell her everything, even if he thought it would worry her or scare her. He hadn't told her yet because he was still trying to prepare himself to face the fact that his father was working with Nick and Nicki somehow. Although he wanted to believe otherwise, deep down he knew it was true.

"Nathan-"

"I know, I know, you don't want me to worry about hurting your feelings. But Haley, I didn't want to tell you yet because I'm not even sure how I feel about the whole situation. I mean, what if they did go see him? Would my dad really be involved with something bad?"

"I don't know…" Dan had done some terrible things in the past, but even Haley had a hard time believing that he could somehow be involved with the Chavez's. There was something about them that wasn't right and if Nathan was right and they were some kind of criminals, then she couldn't see Dan actually associating with them.

"He's my dad, Haley. I know he's a bad guy, but he wouldn't actually do anything illegal with them, right?"

"Nathan, Dan's in jail for arson and attempted murder." Haley said softly as he sighed. "I know you don't want to think that he could possibly do something worse than setting that boat on fire, but he is capable of it."

Nathan knew she was right. Dan was capable of just about anything and knowing that scared the shit out of him. Before Dan had gone to jail, Nathan had thought that being an ass was the worst he could possibly get. Then he had set the yacht on fire and Nathan had seen this whole new side to his father that he hadn't known existed, a side that he never wanted to see again. If Dan could be responsible for setting that yacht on fire, what other lengths could he possibly go to achieve his own agendas? It scared him that his own father could be so evil and that's how he knew that if Nick and Nicki had in fact gone to visit Dan that they were up to no good. "I know, and I think that's what scares me the most."

Haley could see that more than anything, Nathan was afraid. He was afraid to find out that his father had done something terrible yet again. She could also see that he was conflicted. It's not every day that your father is an enemy of the state. Dan's imprisonment had put Nathan in a bad position. He hated what his father had done and he hated the man that Dan had become, but he was still his father and that was the reason that Nathan had never been able to shut him out completely. "I understand, and it's ok that you had Kevin run a background check on me."

"Good, I figured you weren't some kind of ex-terrorist or something so you wouldn't mind." Nathan smiled lightly as he kissed her forehead again.

"You never know, maybe I am." Haley said playfully before standing up.

"Haley, where are you going?" Nathan said in slight agitation. He hadn't gotten to hold her in his arms nearly long enough for his liking.

"I'm hungry, are you hungry?" She asked curiously as she opened the freezer and started to look through it.

"We just ate lunch an hour ago." Nathan chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I'm hungry again." Haley shrugged before pulling a package of bagel bites. "You want some?"

"When did you buy bagel bites?" Nathan laughed as he watched her open the box and start to set the small circular sauce and cheese covered bagels onto a cookie sheet. He had helped her unload the groceries a few days ago and had never seen them.

"At the grocery." Haley giggled when she saw his confused look on his face. He had helped her put away the groceries but she had purposely put away the bagel bites herself before he had see because even at 21 he loved them. She had wanted to save them for a rainy day, but she decided that he probably needed some cheering up because of this whole Dan situation. "So I'm guessing you want some?"

"Hell yeah." Nathan laughed as he got up off the couch and walked over to the refrigerator, opening the door to both the freezer and the refrigerator and peering inside.

"What are you doing?" Haley laughed as she turned the oven on and then placed the tray with the bagel bites placed neatly on top of it inside.

"Just looking. You hide all of the good stuff in here and I want to see what else you have stashed away." He joked as she playfully smacked his shoulder before taking a seat in one of the kitchen chairs. "Seriously Hales, there could be airplane tickets to the Bahamas in here and I wouldn't know."

"Sorry, no tickets to the Bahamas." She giggled as she patted the empty space on the table across from her as if to tell him to sit down there. He obediently took a seat before she started talking again. "Tell me what you think about Nick and Nicki."

"What do you mean what do I think? You know what I think." Nathan started as he stared at her curiously. "I think they're both assholes that-"

"Nathan!" Haley scolded as she pointed to her stomach. "You need to learn how to control your tongue before he gets here."

"Shit, I know. Damn it I did it again!" Now he was frustrated by his inability to talk in PG language. Haley only laughed. Every time he said a bad word he ended up saying another one. "I guess I still need a couple months to perfect that skill."

"Yes you do, now, you were saying?" Haley grabbed his hand from across the table and started to absentmindedly trace the outline of his fingers with her own. Ever since she hat met him she had found that when he was this close to her she always wanted to touch him or be in contact with him in some way. At first she had been self conscious about it, but over the years it just became a habit. Every time she was near him, she would hold his hand or wrap her arms around his waist. She really didn't even think about it anymore, it just happened.

"What was I saying?" Nathan questioned confusedly. He had been saying words that their little boy didn't need to hear…

"About Nick and Nicki. You said they were…you know…butt holes." Haley giggled as he nodded in remembrance. "And that's not what I meant anyway. I already knew that you thought that. I meant what do you think they're up to?"

"Honestly? I have no idea." Nathan said as he looked into her warm brown eyes. "I think they're up to something, probably something no good, but I don't know what."

"Do you think it has something to do with drugs? You know, because Nicki is obviously on some. But that wouldn't explain Nick's weird behavior around the baby blanket. Did you get to see the way he looked at it? He was staring at it and smelling it as if it was gold or something, it creeped me out. Oh my God! Maybe he's a child molester or a kidnapper! You don't think he is, do you?" She looked to her husband with wide eyes as her hand instinctively went to rest protectively on her round stomach.

Nathan just stared at her with a smile. He loved it when she rambled. "Hales, I don't think they're child molesters." He assured her. "But Chris said he got the impression that they were looking for something, so if he's telling the truth, then maybe that something has to do with the blanket?"

"Great, how are we supposed to know if Chris was telling the truth?" Haley laughed. It wasn't a secret that Chris stretched the truth to get attention.

"Easy, if we find out that Nick and Nicki had gone to see my Dad, then we know that he really did hear them and that he was telling the truth." Nathan shrugged as Haley looked at him doubtfully.

"Yeah, but, it's not like your Dad is the only Mr. Scott that they could have talked to." Haley pointed out.

Nathan understood what she was saying, but he knew that if Chris was telling the truth, then Nick and Nicki had talked to his dad. It was just one of those things he knew. If they had talked to a Scott at all, it was Dan. He was sure of that. Before he could say anything, the timer went off on the oven and Haley scrambled to take them out before they burned.

"How many do you want?" She asked as she got out two plates and started to place the bagel bites onto them with a spatula.

"Uh, just split them in half and I'll eat whatever you don't." He smirked. Her eyes had always been larger than her stomach; it was just one of those things that made her Haley.

"Well, maybe I'm going to eat all of mine this time. I'm hungry, remember?" She smiled playfully as she brought the plates over and set one in front of Nathan and one in front of her seat. "Besides, I only cooked one pack, so we each only get 4 and a half bagel bites."

Nathan looked down at his plate and laughed when he saw the little cut in half bagel bite. Only his Haley would actually cut the small bagel bite in half because there were an uneven number of them to begin with. She could have taken the whole thing if she wanted it. "Thanks for making them."

"No problem." Haley smiled before taking a bite out of her little bagel. "I had a craving for them anyway."

Nathan laughed as his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. "It's Kevin." He said as Haley nodded. He opened the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Nathan? It's Kevin."

"Hey Kevin." Nathan said lightly as Haley watched him closely for any indication of where the conversation was going.

"Ok, so Haley's record is basically spotless." Kevin assured Nathan who nodded in understanding. Of course her record was spotless, she's Haley. "I was able to convince my buddy to cough up the records…"

"That's great." Nathan said enthusiastically. Now he would hopefully get some answers.

"But…we have an inspection going on here for the next week so you're going to need to drive up here some time after that to see them." Kevin explained.

"You can't just tell me over the phone?" Nathan asked, a little irked that he was going to have to drive all the way up to Charlotte just for this little piece of information.

"Nathan, I'm already doing you a huge favor by letting you see the records." Kevin explained calmly.

"Of course, yeah, sorry. I'll be up next week sometime." Nathan conceded.

"I hate to be pushy, but it would really make my life easier if I knew what day you were coming up so I could have everything in order." Kevin said lightly.

Nathan sighed as he tried to think of the best day to make the trip up to Charlotte. He knew that he didn't want to make Haley come up with him and therefore didn't want to spend the night up there. He also knew that he didn't want Haley here alone while he was in Charlotte, not when Nick and Nicki were here too. Then it hit him, the day of the baby shower would be perfect because Haley wasn't going to be here anyway. "Uh, what about next Thursday?"

"That sounds fine." Kevin agreed. "I'll see you then."

"Ok, thanks Kevin. Bye." Nathan hung up the phone and then looked at Haley whose face demanded an explanation. "I'm going to drive up there next week to look at the records."

"Well, I'm coming too." Haley laughed. Did he think she was just going to stay home while he drove all the way to Charlotte and back? That didn't even make much sense; she would most likely be bored here without him.

"I thought you said that Brooke wanted to take you out to lunch or something?" Nathan asked nervously. There was no way Haley could go with him…Brooke would personally hang him if she wasn't in town for her own baby shower.

"We're supposed to, but I can always reschedule." Haley laughed. It's not like this lunch was set in stone or anything.

"Hales, I really don't want you to drive all the way up there with me. I'll just go up there, find out if Nick and Nicki ever visited my dad, then come back." Nathan shrugged.

"Nathan, that's 8 hours of driving in one day!" Haley protested. "If you're not going to let me go with you, at least stay in a hotel for the night."

"And leave you here with Nick and Nicki? I don't think so." Nathan scoffed at the possibility.

"Tim will be here." Haley reminded him with a laugh. Sometimes he was so protective that it was frustrating.

"Haley, when is Tim ever here at night?" Nathan asked seriously.

"True." She giggled. Summer was a little over halfway over and Tim had slept in the condo for a total of about 5 nights. Sometimes she had to wonder where he was all night. "Then I'll just have Peyton come over again."

"But Peyton's with Jake again. You know how obsessed she gets about spending time with him." Nathan joked.

"Well, fine, then I'll just go to Brooke and Lucas's for the night. I don't want you to have to drive to and from all in the same day." Haley sighed. If he wasn't going to let her go, then she wasn't going to let him come home.

Nathan looked at her for a moment before realizing that she wasn't backing down on this one. If there was one thing he knew about Haley, it was that when she made up her mind about something, there was no changing it. "Ok, fine, but only if you stay at Lucas's and only if you promise to call me after- after you get back from lunch and before you go to bed."

Haley looked at him curiously before agreeing. "Fine, but only if you promise not to let any hookers into your room since I won't be there to fight them off."

Nathan laughed as he took her hand and motioned for her to get out of her seat. When she did, he pulled her onto his lap and playfully bit at her ear. "I wouldn't even dream of it."

"You better not." Haley smiled playfully. "Because then I would have to hurt both you and the skank."

"Now that, I'd like to see." He smiled against her earlobe before kissing down her neck.

* * *

"Ok, and when you finish cleaning the windows, the third floor elevator door needs to be wiped down." Whitey told Nick who was standing in front of him in his office. 

"Yes sir." Nick said evenly but didn't turn to leave like Whitey had expected him to.

"Do you need something?"

"I was just curious, did you ever do any renovating on the third floor? You know, like remodeling?" Nick asked easily, watching Whitey's face for an answer.

Whitey paused, taken aback by the question. "No, we never did." He answered finally.

"Ok, thanks." Nick smiled before leaving. Perfect. The old man had just confirmed that the necklace was somewhere on the third floor by lying. This was too easy, like taking candy from a baby.

"Nick!" He heard a female voice whisper from behind him somewhere. He turned around to look for the origin of the voice, but decided that he must have been hearing things when he didn't see anyone. "Nick!" He heard it again and looked around for the second time.

"What the hell?" He muttered. Someone was calling his name, he just didn't know who or where they were. "Who are you?"

"I'm your sister you dumbass." The voice replied angrily. "And I'm over here behind this bush." Nick looked over at the bush next to him before laughing. Nicki? Hiding in a bush? This was too good. "Shut the hell up and get over here!" She hissed.

"Alright, alright." He laughed as he walked behind the bush to see a very unhappy looking Nicki. "What do you want?"

"You know what? If you're going to have an attitude, then I'm not going to tell you." Nicki said indignantly as she stuck her nose up in the air. Nick always took her for granted. It was as if he was only nice to her because she was helping him with this job.

"Sorry." Nick said hastily. "Now what is it?"

"You know what Nick? This whole time we've been doing things your way and look where it got us? We've wasted half of the summer! If we had done things my way from the beginning, we would have been done." Nicki huffed.

"Oh please, you don't know that." Nick said angrily. "It's obvious that the old man has the emerald hidden away somewhere and we needed to do things my way to find out where."

"Yeah right, it's not even his necklace. I'm sure Camilla was the one to hide it." Nicki spat back. "And you're an idiot, that's how I know that my way would have worked better."

"Nicki, is there a reason you made me come behind this damn bush? I mean, other than to insult my genius?" Nick asked impatiently.

"Yes there is." Nicki sad firmly.

"Ok, well, what is it?" This whole game was getting old. If Nicki had useful information, she needed to share it. They were a team whether she liked it or not.

"I found out when the best time to inspect condo 10 is." Nicki shrugged, watching as Nick's eyes grew larger. They had been waiting for the best time for over a week now and neither of them could wait until it was finally time to go searching for the priceless Austrian necklace.

"Tell me." Nick commanded eagerly.

"Next week. Thursday I think, but I'll have to make sure that's right." Nicki smiled sinisterly.

"What is next Thursday?" Nick questioned.

"The whole group on the third floor is throwing Haley a baby shower and Nathan is going to be in Charlotte all day. He's even spending the night up there." Nicki smiled.

"Wait, how do you know this?"

"Because I passed by their condo a few minutes a go and heard Nathan say that he's going to stay overnight in Charlotte on Thursday and I already knew that there was a baby shower that day." Nicki explained. "If we want to get into that condo, Thursday is our chance."


	27. Chapter 27

Hello everyone...I know this is late and for that I apologize. I'm going out of town this weekend, but I'm going to try to get the next update to you before I leave to make up for the terrible amout of time it's been taking me to update. So thank you to all of the amazing people who made my day(s) by reviewing...you all rock. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 27**

Nathan took a deep breath as he opened the large heavy door that led to the lobby of the North Carolina state penitentiary. The days of the week had passed quickly and now the infamous Thursday had arrived. He had been dreading this day all week for two reasons. The first was that Haley had made him promise to stay in a hotel so he didn't have to drive back today and he never liked being away from her. He was especially unhappy that he had to miss seeing her after the baby shower. He knew that she was going to be surprised and excited and he was a little disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see her face as she told him about it. Sure, he would get to hear her voice as she told him about the day over the phone, but that wasn't the same as seeing the bright smile on her face and the way her eyes would surely light up.

The other reason he had been dreading this day was that he could very possibly come face to face with his father again. He had already decided that if he found out that Nick and Nicki had indeed visited his father in jail, he would talk to Dan and try to find out the reason. If Dan was involved with them in any way, he probably wouldn't be inclined to share that information, but Nathan knew that he had to try anyway. He had seriously considered calling Kevin and rescheduling the whole visit to another day, preferably one that was farther away, but had ultimately decided against it because knowing whether or not Nick and Nicki were up to something bad or illegal took precedence over wanting to avoid his father.

"Nathan, wow, you're here earlier than I expected." Kevin said from behind the front desk and set his doughnut down.

"Yeah, sorry, is that a problem?" Nathan had left early this morning in hopes of getting the long drive and visit to the jail out of the way. He was secretly hoping that he would finish looking at the records early enough to drive home even though Haley had made him promise to stay the night in Charlotte.

"No, it's fine. Let me just log you in." Kevin said as he got out his clipboard and ruffled through the papers to find the one that Nathan needed to use to sign in. He handed it over to Nathan who immediately began filling out the required paperwork.

"I thought letting me see the records was kind-of not legal." Nathan said in a low voice as he scribbled his name on all of the dotted lines. Wasn't the whole point of the background check so that his friend would feel comfortable letting him see the visitor's log? If that was the case, then why did he have to sign in so that everyone knew he was looking at them?

"It's not illegal." Kevin clarified, "but you're supposed to have a certain level of clearance before you're allowed to see them."

"I'm assuming that I don't have that kind of clearance." Nathan joked as he handed the clipboard and pen back to the oversized man.

"Not really." Kevin laughed. "But since Haley passed the background check with flying colors, I was able to convince my friend to give her clearance. So, you can go home and tell Haley that she officially has level 2 clearance if she ever needs it."

"I'll tell her." Nathan laughed. "But, if Haley's the one with clearance, how am I able to look at the records?"

"You're her husband, basically her closest relative, so if anyone asks, which they won't, I'll just tell them that Haley wasn't able to come for medical reasons and sent you instead." Kevin shrugged. No one was going to ask, because no one really cared. It's not like the visitor's logs were top secret government documents.

"Medical reasons?" Nathan chuckled. "Ok, fine by me."

"Great, ok, here you go." Kevin smiled as he handed over a large manila envelope with the word 'classified' stamped across the front of it. "You can just have a seat in one of those chairs over there."

"Thanks Kevin." Nathan said politely as he took the large envelope and then walked over to the nearby seats that Kevin had pointed to. He set the envelope on the small table that was positioned in front of him and slowly removed the packet of paper. The dates on the first page started on January 1st of this year and continued upward as the pages went on. Nathan skimmed the papers until the ones in June started. It was the middle of July, so if Nick and Nicki had come here, it was probably in June.

His eyes scanned the two pages that were dedicated to the month of June, hoping that he didn't see the name "Chavez" anywhere on the list. His spirits were beginning to rise as he neared the end of the second page, but just as quickly as his hopes had come, they were crushed. There, the last two names for the month of June, were Nick and Nicki Chavez. Nathan internally cursed as he looked to the other side of the paper and saw that they had indeed visited Dan Scott. Nathan quickly put the papers back and returned to the front desk. "I need to talk to my dad."

"Ok, I'll have him sent in in just a few minutes." Kevin responded as he watched Nathan carefully. Obviously something the kid had seen in the log had upset him. Nathan was no longer in a light or cheery mood, but instead looked to be extremely irritated and was asking to see his father, which was never a good sign.

Nathan waited impatiently as Kevin called for Dan through the intercom. All he could think about was getting to Dan to find out what the heck Nick and Nicki had said to him. His fists clenched as he thoughts about his father talking to the two people that angered him more that Chris Keller, if that was possible. He could only imagine what they could have talked about and he was pretty sure that he didn't want to know, but he had to.

Kevin gave Nathan a 'thumbs up' when it was ok to head on into the visitor's room and Nathan quickly opened the familiar door. He took a seat in one of the terminals and watched as his father, the man he couldn't wait to talk to but was also dreading, sat down across from him. He had to resist the urge to hit something when he witnessed Dan's face turning into a light smirk, one that said that he was happy to see Nathan here, alone.

"Nathan, what a pleasant surprise." Dan smiled after picking up the phone on his side of the glass and watching as his son did the same. "I see you left the gold-digger at home?"

"I don't want to talk about Haley." Nathan sighed in frustration. He had been here for a total of 20 seconds and already Dan was harassing his wife even though she wasn't here.

"Oh, it would appear that your wife is a sore spot, son." Dan laughed. "Listen to me, the only advice I'm going to give you is to ditch the whore. I don't know what she did, but I'm sure that divorce is the only way to go."

Nathan stared at his father with cold unwavering eyes. If only Dan were on his side of the glass divider then maybe he would be able to knock some sense into him. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to his father tell him that he needed to get a divorce for no reason, all it was doing was putting him in a bad mood and distracting him from the real reason that he had asked to talk to Dan in the first place.

"Fine, what do you want to talk to me about?" Dan smiled. He decided that he should stop with the Haley insults by the way his son was looking at him. He had never seen Nathan so visibly irritated by a few words strung together before. If only the boy could learn how to channel that irritation into basketball he would be unstoppable.

"What are you up to?" Nathan asked bluntly as he stared at his father through the glass pane. He wanted to get to the point as quickly as possible so he could get out of here.

"Nothing." Dan said carefully. He had an idea of what Nathan was talking about but wanted to play the innocent card first just in case. Dumb people always admitted their evil plans to someone else because they thought the other person already knew, only to find that they were mistaken. Dan Scott was not dumb and he refused to be duped by his own son.

"Don't give me that shit." Nathan spat back angrily. "I know you met with them. Tell me what the hell they're up to."

"Who did I meet with?" Dan asked evenly, not ready to give up on the hope that his son didn't know about all of the plotting he had done. Dan was sure that once Nick and Nicki carried trough their end of the bargain and Nathan and Haley were safely separated, that Nathan would probably be a little upset but would come to realize that it was for the best. However, if Nathan were to find that Dan had had a role in his separation, he would surely be extremely pissed off and possibly decide to give the tramp another chance.

"Stop playing dumb, Dad. You know exactly who I'm talking about. The only other people that came to visit you in the past few months aside from me and Haley." Nathan said back bitterly. He couldn't believe that his dad was still trying to act all innocent when he clearly knew what was going on. Dan just stared at Nathan, not wanting to give up any information and Nathan sighed in frustration when he realized he was going to spell it out for him. "Nick and Nicki Chavez."

"Oh them!" Dan laughed light heartedly. "What about them?"

"What did they say to you?" Nathan asked quickly, wanting to speed this process up. "And don't even think about lying to me. You lied to me so much as a kid that I'm basically an expert at seeing past your crap."

"Is there a reason Haley's not here?" Dan asked with a devious smile, already knowing that answer was yes. Nick and Nicki must have carried through on their end of the deal, that would explain why Nathan was so tense.

"Yes." Nathan said briefly. "Now can you answer my damn question?"

"Son, trust me, you may not be in a very good place right now, but this new arrangement for you will no doubt be better for you in the end, not to mention the wonders it's going to do for your career." Dan started.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked confusedly. If he hadn't known better, he would say that his father had officially gone insane.

"Your split with Haley." Dan shrugged as Nathan gave him a bewildered look. "It was long overdue and I just hope that you can see that I was only doing what I thought was best for you."

Split with Haley? What the hell was he talking about? "What did you do?" Nathan asked angrily.

"Technically I didn't do anything." Dan defended himself in a bored tone. It was definitely too soon to tell Nathan about his role in the break-up, but it had slipped out. "It was all Nick and Nicki."

"How's that?" Nathan's mind was reeling. Dan thought that he and Haley were separated and he thought that Nick and Nicki had something to do with it?

"Because, I never once laid a hand on your relationship. They're the ones who had to do all of the dirty work according to the deal." Dan shrugged, immediately regretting that he had mentioned the deal. _Damn it! I'm turning into one of those dumb people!_

"What deal?" Nathan couldn't believe what he was hearing. This didn't make any sense. Dan had some sort of deal with Nick and Nicki to destroy his relationship with his wife? They hadn't even done one thing to possibly make him angry at Haley. Breaking him and Haley up was definitely not their big plan.

"Ugh, I didn't want to tell you this, but since it's all in the past, I guess it's ok." Dan shrugged with a smug smile. It's not like Nathan could do anything to him since he was in jail and Dan really wanted someone to share the genius of his plan with. "I gave Nick and Nicki some information, and in return they were supposed to break you and the skank up."

There it was. How could this man in front of him be his father? There was no way a father would ever make a deal with shady people like the Chavez's to make his son's life miserable. Nathan's fists clenched as he tried to maintain his composure. He had to get as much information out of Dan before he caught on to the fact that he and Haley were still very much together. "What information did you give them?"

"I don't know, some building codes or something." Dan shrugged. "You know son, I think they said they were looking for something. Yeah, something that fit in a safe. And If I'm not mistaken they said that it was probably on the third floor of your condo complex."

Nathan had barely been able to process what Dan had just said because his mind was still reeling from the fact that the sick man in front of him had made a deal with someone to make sure that him and his wife split up. The thought of it made him want to throw or hit something. How was it possible for any man to sink so low?

"My suggestion is to leave the wifey in the condo, then my dear friends Nick and Nicki will come to find whatever it is they're looking for and may end up having to dispose of her because she's in the way. Really son, that situation would be win/win for you because you would get out of this dead end marriage and –"

"Stop!" Nathan shouted as he rubbed a hand over his face. "Shut the hell up. I need to think." Everything Dan had just told him had yet to sink in now he was trying to piece it all together. Nick and Nicki were looking for something. Something valuable. It was quite possibly in his condo. Obviously the psychos were dangerous.

"Part of me is a little sad that I told them not to just kill the whore in the first place. I think that you might be a little less upset right now if she were completely gone." Nathan's face turned white and he froze in his seat as he listened to what his father said. "The girl seemed really excited to kill, too. Maybe if they'll end up killing her anyway."

Nathan's eyes were wide with shock as he watched his father shrug and smile as if what he had just said was not disturbingly evil. "She's carrying your grandchild." Nathan said in disbelief. The man sitting in front of him was not his father. The father he knew would never even think to do something this twisted.

"Maybe that's what she told you." Dan said in a low voice, insinuating that the baby wasn't actually his grandchild. Again.

Nathan had to get out of there; he couldn't look at the sick man in front of him any longer. He quickly got up from his chair and walked towards the door without a word. He didn't look back to see the amused yet pitying smile on Dan's face, all he did was get out his cell phone and quickly dial a familiar number.

* * *

"Brooke, where are we going?" Haley laughed as Brooke dragged her friend towards a random door in the back of the restaurant. This was Haley's favorite restaurant at the beach and she had come here probably over 10 times this year alone with Nathan because she craved it so often, but she had never been through this door, much less seen it. 

"Relax Tutor Girl; we're going to get a better table." Brooke shrugged as she continued to pull Haley towards the door and the party that awaited her on the other side.

"Brooke, there are plenty of tables out here." Haley said in a light voice. The few people who were actually eating in the restaurant at this strange hour were starting to stare and the last thing Haley wanted to do was cause some sort of scene. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon and Brooke had decided that she was going to take Haley out for lunch.

"Listen, Nathan put me in charge of babysitting you so you have to do as I say." Brooke said sternly. Nathan had left earlier this morning and had probably arrived in Charlotte about a half an hour ago.

"You are not babysitting me!" Haley defended herself. "He's just paranoid, that's why I'm staying with you for the night."

"Yeah, whatever you need to believe, now let's go." Brooke smiled mischievously as she grabbed Haley's hand and pulled her to the door once again. Brooke was giddy with excitement as she opened the door that lead into the private party room that had been rented out for the shower and pulled Haley in behind her.

"Brooke, I really think-" Haley stopped mid-sentence when she noticed all of the light blue balloons scattered throughout the room and the familiar faces spread out in front of her. Her eyes instantly started to fill up with tears as she realized what this was. Her friends were throwing her a baby shower. "Oh my gosh, I cannot believe you did this."

"Surprise." Peyton laughed as she engulfed her friend with a hug and Haley started full on crying. "What? Don't you like it?" She joked as she let the crying girl go.

"I love it." Haley sobbed as she moved over to hug Brooke. "Wow, I had no idea that you were planning this." She laughed as she tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I am so going to kill you both."

"That's the spirit!" Brooke cheered as she pulled out a seat at the head of one of the tables for Haley to sit in. "Since you're the guest of honor, you get to sit here while we finish getting the first game ready."

"Game? What game?" Haley smiled as Brooke hurried away to join Peyton by a table in the back of the room. Haley took a moment to look around the room and scan the group of girls who were now starting to swarm up to her. The light blue balloons not only were part of the centerpieces of the tables, but were tied to random things throughout the room and were floating around the ceiling too. Blue flowers were arranged with baby bottles as the vases on all of the tables and stuffed animals and pacifiers were spread throughout.

"Haley, it's so good to see you." A female voice said as she came up in front of Haley who instantly screamed and hugged the girl.

"Vivian, how are you? Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're here!" Haley felt a fresh batch of tears spring to her eyes as she hugged her older sister again.

"I know, Ben and I were planning on bringing the kids here for vacation at some point during the summer and when Brooke called we decided that this week was perfect." Vivian smiled.

"The kids are here?" Haley asked with a bright smile. She hadn't seen her two nieces in close to a year and she was really hoping that if her sister had brought them that she could see them.

"Yeah, they're around here somewhere." Vivian laughed. Haley gave her a quizzical look and she decided to explain. "Brooke said that the girls were invited as well and I think they're running around here somewhere with a little girl named Jenny." Haley nodded knowingly. Of course Peyton had invited Jenny to come, it would be weird if she had excluded the little girl that meant so much to her. "So how are you little sister?"

"I'm great, really. I still can't believe this is happening. I mean, how long ago did you get an invitation?" Haley couldn't believe that she hadn't even suspected this at all. Sure, every now and then she had wondered if she should have some sort of baby shower or even a party once the baby was born, but she had never expected this from her friends.

"A few weeks ago," Vivian laughed. Haley was always the most intelligent one in the family and it was amusing to see that she was so surprised by this. "I talked to Quinn and Taylor, they said that Brooke invited them too, but they couldn't make it. Quinn had some soccer tournament or something for Sam. And Taylor, well, who the hell knows what Taylor had going on."

Haley couldn't stop smiling as she talked to her sister. It felt so good to see her again since the last time she had seen any of her siblings was Christmas. She missed all of them more and more every day, especially with the pregnancy hormones, and it felt really good to see her big sister again.

"Ok everyone, gather around." Brooke's voice was heard on some type of microphone. Haley moved to get up so she could go over by Brooke, but was promptly stopped by the booming of her friend's loud voice. "Not you, Haley! You're the guest of honor! You never have to move!"

"Brooke, where did you even get that thing?" Haley questioned with a laugh as Brooke shrugged. "And besides, it's not like I'm disabled or something."

"Tutor Girl, do as I say and keep your little behind in that seat!" Brooke ordered. "Everyone else, gather around Haley." The group of about 20 girls did as they were told and gathered around Haley. "Ok, now, everyone take a good look at her beautiful stomach and then go to your seats." Haley laughed as all of the women stared down at her belly and then one by one walked back to their seats. She had a feeling that she knew what game they were about to play. "The game is, um, well it doesn't have a name, but Peyton will explain the rules." Brooke laughed. "Keep in mind that she's a little over 6 months pregnant."

Peyton laughed as the microphone was handed off to her for the explanation of the game. "So this is how you play. You all have strips of paper in front of you so what you have to do is guess how large Haley's waist size is and write your name and guess on the paper."

Haley groaned jokingly as she realized that all of the women had to guess how large her waist was. If someone even thought about guessing anything above 50 inches she would personally beat them. The girls in the room all nodded in understanding before they each wrote down their guesses and Brooke started to collect the papers.

A few minutes later Peyton had finished going through the guesses and was ready to announce the winner. "The award for the farthest guess goes to Haley's niece Danielle, her guess was 1,000,000 inches." The crowd of women erupted into a laughter as Haley hugged her niece that happened to be sitting next to her. Danielle hugged Haley back before breaking away to take a drink of her apple juice.

"That was a good try, hunny." Haley encouraged while trying to suppress her giggles. Danielle was only 4 so her guess was expected to be crazy.

"The winner, who guessed the exact right size, is Shachar!" Peyton cheered. Everyone turned to look at the dark haired girl who laughed and received a warm hug from Haley who had gotten up out of her seat and gone over to her. Haley and Shachar had met at Duke a women's rights convention and had been friends ever since. Nathan still teased the two of them about going to one of those, but neither cared because they had each made a friend there.

"Oh my gosh!" Brooke yelled all of a sudden as she looked at her watch. "Everyone sit down right now. We need to eat lunch, and then we can play some more games."

All the girls did what they were told as a waitress went around the room taking their orders. "I can't believe you did this." Haley smiled as she approached her two friends.

"I know, we're evil geniuses." Peyton shrugged with a smile.

"Did Nathan know about this? And Lucas?"

"You bet they knew." Brooke said enthusiastically. "They both went with me last week to pick out some of your presents."

Haley looked at her confusedly for a few moments before realizing that Nathan must have gone while she was at the spa with Peyton. "Thank you, both of you, this is amazing."

"We know." They both responded at once.

* * *

Lucas was sitting on the couch when his phone started vibrating on the table in front of him. Grateful for the distraction from the boring show he was watching on TV, he quickly answered it. "Hello?" 

"Lucas, it's me."

"Nathan, hey, how's Charlotte?" Lucas said enthusiastically as he pressed a button on the remote and the TV turned off.

"It was great, but I'm coming home right now." Nathan responded as he started his car up.

"What? Why? You don't trust us to watch Haley for the night?" Lucas joked.

"Is the shower over yet?" Nathan asked, changing the subject.

"Um, no…I'm supposed to go pick the girls up in about 2 hours." Lucas responded curiously. Nathan sounded extremely flustered on the other end and that was not a good sign. "What's wrong?"

"When you pick them up, don't go back to the condos." Nathan commanded as he pulled out of the parking lot and on to the highway.

"Why?" Lucas laughed. Nathan wasn't making any sense. He was coming home early and he didn't want Lucas to bring Peyton, Brooke, or Haley back to the condos.

"It's Nick and Nicki, they're dangerous. I mean really dangerous, Luke." Nathan said in frustration. Why was Charlotte so goddamn far from the beach? "Just stay away for now and I'll explain when I get back."

"Well, what should I tell Haley? That you're breaking your promise and coming home early because Nick and Nicki are 'dangerous'?" Lucas asked. He had always thought that Nick and Nicki were dangerous, but what did "really dangerous" mean? Like murderers dangerous? Or thieves dangerous? There was a difference.

"Just tell her that Nick and Nicki did visit my dad and I'll tell her more when I get home." Nathan said back quickly. The last thing he wanted was for Haley to worry and he had already decided that he would keep the information about Dan basically hiring murderers to get rid of her to himself. Of course, trying to keep her from worrying had backfired last time, but this time he had a much better reason to keep it a secret.

"So when will you be home?" Lucas asked.

"With any luck, no more than 4 hours from now." He needed to be home and he needed to be with the people he cared about. One thing was for sure, there was no way that he and Haley were staying there, not with the Chavez's living right under them. One of them had to go. If Nick and Nicki were there, he and Haley sure as hell wouldn't be.


	28. Chapter 28

Hey everyone, sorry I wasn't able to get this up before the weekend. I decided that the Meeting Baby James update was more imporant since I hadn't updated it in forever. Anyway, thank you soooo much to all of the awsome people reviewed. You are what motivate me and I don't think I can say that enough. I love you all. So here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 28**

"Thank you so much, Lisa," Haley smiled as she looked at the gift she had just opened. There were only about 15 minutes left before the shower was over and Haley was finishing opening her presents. So far she had gotten multiple packages of baby bottles and onesies, a few pacifiers and stuffed animals, and as a joint gift from all of her sisters she got a stroller and a car seat. The only gift left now was Brooke and Peyton's.

Noticing that her gift was last, Brooke hurriedly got up and delivered the box to Haley. "You have to read the card first," she warned.

Haley smiled; of course she would read the card first. Who did Brooke think she was? She grabbed the card on the top of the box and slowly tore it open, revealing the white sparkly card from within. As Haley read the card, her eyes started to fill with tears at the words that Peyton and Brooke had written about her friendship. When her eyes got to the last line, she thought they were going to pop out of her head. "No you didn't."

"Yes we did," Brooke smiled. She knew that Haley had just read the last line of the card and was probably blown away by the fact that it said that they bought her a baby crib. "You can pick it up whenever at Babies R Us."

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" Haley smiled as she stood up and gave both of her friends a hug.

"Aw, you're welcome. But you still have to open the rest of the present," Brooke chided playfully as she guided Haley back to the chair.

Haley did as she was told and gently started to unwrap the beautiful paper that covered her last gift. As the paper came off, she was able to recognize the box as a top of the line breast pump. "Brooke, Peyton, thank you so much."

"No problem, can you believe that Lucas didn't even know what that was until we were at the store?" Brooke laughed out loud as the rest of the women in the room joined her.

"I can believe it since Nathan didn't know until I told him," Haley laughed. Just then she felt a small tugging at her shirt and looked down to see her two nieces and Jenny staring up at her. "Hi girls, are you having fun?"

They all three nodded their heads before the oldest, Vivian's daughter Caroline, spoke up. "My mommy told us to give you this."

"Ok, thank you," Haley smiled as she put the bag in her lap and waved as the girls ran off to the open area of the room. During most of the shower the three girls had been running around and playing games in the area of the room that was just open space and Haley had often found herself content at just watching them run around crazily. "It looks like I have one more, girlies."

The ladies in the room al watched attentively as Haley removed the tissue paper from the bag and subsequently, the gift. A chorus of "oohs" and "ahs" was heard when Haley pulled out the light purple pregnancy lingerie. Brooke instantly started clapping in approval and Haley giggled as she fingered the lacy material. "I thought Nathan might like that," Vivian laughed from her seat.

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Haley laughed as she folded it up and gently laid it in the bag. "Thank you Viv."

"Ok, gifts are done!" Brooke yelled excitedly. "Now, we only have a few more minutes, but we actually have something else for you Haley."

"What else could you possibly have for me?" Haley laughed. They had already given her a wonderful shower with her friends and some of her family as well as wonderful gifts that would help her out tremendously.

"You'll see," Brooke smiled playfully as she handed three envelopes to her friend as watched as she looked at them questioningly. She was so happy to be able to do something like this for Haley and she felt so good that she was the one of the reasons for the smile on her friend's face. "Listen up everyone, since guys were not invited to our little party, three guys in Haley's life decided to write something for her."

Haley became insanely curious as to what was written in each envelope and who wrote them after hearing Brooke's words. She had a feeling that one of them had to be from Lucas but the other two were a mystery. One of them could be from Nathan, but the last one baffled her. She supposed that the last one could have been from one of her brothers, but she had just gotten e-mails from all of them not too long ago saying how proud they were of her and all that, she doubted any of them would want to say those things twice.

"Ok, Haley. Open the first one," Peyton instructed. Haley had to laugh at how perfectly this whole party had been planned out. Everything from the games to the food to the gifts had run smoothly and everyone there seemed to be having a good time. Leave it to Brooke to plan and run a perfect party.

Haley did as instructed and opened the first envelope with an eager smile on her face. This day just kept getting better. She pulled out a piece of paper with neatly typed words spanning down most of the page. Her eyes quickly scanned to the bottom and her smile grew at seeing it was from Lucas. "Should I read it out loud?"

"Of course!" Brooke yelled as the rest of the women laughed at her behavior.

"Ok, ok," Haley smiled as she started to read the long letter. A minute or two later there were tears coming from every woman's eyes as she finished reading the kind words. "Haley, you're my best friend and nothing will ever change that. I guess what I'm trying to tell you with this letter is that I love you and I love my little nephew. No matter how I my have acted when you first told me, never doubt that I am happy for you and Nathan and that I already love the little guy and am prepared to spoil him senseless. I'll always be here for you, even when Nathan Junior has you at your last nerve. Just remember that best friends stick together, and so do brothers and sisters. I hope you have a great shower, sister in law. You deserve it. Lucas."

A stream of tears was visible now on Haley's face as well as most of the other women in the room. Many of them were looking at Brooke as if to tell her how jealous they were of her at the moment. "Why is everyone looking at me? Haley, read the next letter," she commanded as she swatted at the tears in her own eyes in an attempt to dissipate them.

Haley slowly took out the next letter; not really knowing whom it could be from. Her delicate hands shook slightly from reading the beautiful letter before as she pulled the next letter out and gently unfolded it. Here eyes scanned to the bottom of the page and she almost laughed out loud at seeing the signature. This would be interesting. "Dear Haley, I know we're not like friends, well, we are, but not like great friends or whatever. So Peyton asked me to write this letter to you and I didn't know what to write about…I still don't know what to write about."

The group laughed as Haley read the letter from Tim who had obviously been uncomfortable when writing it. "I'm a little afraid to even write that you're cool because when Nathan reads this he's going to kick my ass. Unless I tell him that Peyton made me, which would be totally true. So, it sucks that you can't drink anymore. I really do feel bad for you. But look on the bright side, at least you'll have a kid to chase around in like, I don't know, a few months or something. I wouldn't be able to do it. You know, give up beer to have a kid. That just doesn't make sense to me. Ok, my hand hurts from writing this, so I guess I'll just talk to you at home. See ya later. Tim."

All of the women in the room including Haley were just laughing by the end. It was so like Tim to write her a letter that was only about a fourth of a page long even when it was handwritten. He had probably been on the way out the door as he wrote it. As she thought about it, she hadn't even seen Tim for almost 3 days. Their schedules were always opposite. When Haley was asleep, Tim was awake and when Tim was asleep, Haley was awake.

"Peyton, I knew it was a bad idea to ask Tim to write a letter!" Brooke scolded playfully.

"No, I love it. I needed a good laugh after Lucas's tearjerker," Haley giggled as she folded the letter back up and stuffed it into the envelope. Now she was incredibly excited to see whom the last letter was from. She had a gut feeling that it was from Nathan and as she ran her finger along the "3" written in the center she became more sure. After receiving a go ahead look from Brooke, she opened the final envelope and pulled out the handwritten letter. She immediately recognized the handwriting as that of her husband and her face broke into a large grin. He had been gone for only about 7 hours and she already missed him like crazy. "It's from Nathan."

"Read it out loud," one of the girls squealed as the others agreed.

"Ok, it says, Haley, do not read this out loud." The room erupted into protesting groans and laughs. Haley smiled at the first line; she knew that Nathan wouldn't care if the letter was read out loud but that she probably would. He had written that because he knew she wouldn't want it read out loud. "Sorry ladies," she smiled.

"Haley, come on. We want to hear it!" Vivian smiled playfully. She knew her sister and she knew that if Nathan thought she wouldn't want the letter read for every one to hear, then she probably wouldn't.

Haley only shook her head as she began to read the letter to herself. Many smiles, quite a few giggles, some blushes, and even some shed tears later, she was finished and the party was over.

"Lucas!" Haley shouted as she noticed her best friend come in through the door and walk towards her. All of the guests were gone now and it was just her, Peyton, Jenny and Brooke aside from Lucas. "I read your letter, it was so sweet." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes all over again as she pulled her friend in for a hug.

"So you liked it?" he joked.

"Are you kidding me? I loved it," she smiled as she pulled away and came face to face with him. "Since Nathan's not going to be here until tomorrow, I guess you're the one who has to help me take all of this up to the condo."

Lucas remained silent, not sure which part of her statement to prove wrong first. "There's been a change of plan," he started as all three of the girls turned to look at him curiously. His voice was heavy and serious so they all assumed that this was a bad change of plans. "Nathan is on his way home right now and we're not going back to the condo."

"Why is Nathan coming home?" Haley asked worriedly.

"Why can't we go back to our condo?" Brooke questioned, mirroring Haley's voice.

Lucas racked his brain trying to think of the best way to tell them what Nathan had told him. "Nathan will be home in probably about 2 hours, or knowing the way he drives, closer to one, and when he gets here he'll explain."

"Lucas, you have to at least give us a reason," Peyton countered. Why wouldn't they be allowed back to their condo? This whole situation just didn't make sense.

"Nathan told me to tell you that the Chavez's did visit Dan," he said as he turned to Haley. She was the only one who would know what he was talking about. Brooke and Peyton had been excluded from all of the information that they had found about Nick and Nicki in the past few weeks. They had no idea that the neighbors had talked to a 'Mr. Scott' and they also had no idea that they were looking for something.

Haley wasn't extremely surprised by this information, she had suspected it, but the fact that Nathan was coming home and that he didn't want anyone returning to the condos was a little unsettling. Something he had found out from his father must have been really bad. "Are you sure he didn't tell you anything else?" she asked confusedly. It was not like Nathan to request a favor like this from Lucas without giving him some type of reason.

"Look, all he said was that Nick and Nicki are dangerous," he responded shortly. "I swear that's all I know."

"My mommy's name is Nicki," a little girl called from the other end of the room where she was examining the baby gifts Haley had received that day.

All four of them turned to look at Jenny and their hearts filled with sadness for her. She didn't know that her mother was some sort of criminal and if she was lucky she never would. Peyton slowly walked over to Jenny and brought her close in a hug before talking her into playing a game, obviously distracting her while the other three talked.

"Dangerous? What does he mean by dangerous?" Brooke scoffed. It got on her nerves how Nathan could be so vague at times.

"I don't know, he didn't say," he responded as he watched Haley's face. She was thinking about something, he could tell. "What is it, Hales?"

"Nothing," she responded quickly. "I just really want to know why they're dangerous, that's all," she lied. In truth she had been thinking about the knife that she had seen in their condo when she was in there with Nick. Sure, a lot of people had knives, but something about him made her feel that he didn't use it for opening boxes or other things along those lines. She had a feeling that when Nathan said they were dangerous, he meant _really_ dangerous.

A little over an hour later they were all sitting around a picnic table in the park. Jenny had been dropped back off at Jake's and Peyton had decided to stay with him until they knew more about what was going on. After all, Nicki was Jenny's mom so whatever they were up to could have something to do with her.

Haley kept staring nervously down at her phone, both to see the time and count down to when Nathan would finally get here, and to see if she had a new text from him or even a missed call. She didn't know why she would just now notice if she had a missed call from him, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of it just in case. Ever since Lucas had said he was coming home early because of what he had found out, she had become increasingly anxious to see him. Whatever it was that he found out must be bad and she just wanted him to be safely here with her where she could keep an eye on him.

She had had feelings like this surface every now and then ever since the fire on the yacht four years ago. Whenever something big, stressful, or frightening happened, she always wanted him to be somewhere in her sight, somewhere where she could easily see that he was safe. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a light kick on her abdomen. She smiled as she reached down to soothingly rub the place her son had just kicked and tried her hardest to stifle a giggle when he continued to kick right where hand was.

"Is that Nathan?" Brooke's voice brought Haley out of her daze and she looked up to see her husband stepping out of the car over in the parking lot.

"Oh you are such a smart little baby," she cooed softly to her stomach. "I bet you kicked because you knew Daddy was here. You're going to be such a genius."

Brooke laughed at Haley's antics before watching her friend get out of her seat and make her way quickly towards her husband. She turned to Lucas who seemed to be deeply engrossed in his thoughts and she had to wonder what they were about. She was still a little confused about this whole Nick and Nicki thing. What exactly was going on with them?

"Nathan, you're home," Haley smiled excitedly as she made her way over to him as fast as she possibly could. When she finally reached him, she grabbed his face between the palms of her hands and before he could utter a word her lips were on his in a desperate kiss. Nathan was taken a little of guard by the sudden kiss and the desperation he could feel in it, but returned it nonetheless. He knew that Lucas had probably told her about Nick and Nicki visiting Dan and he also knew that she wasn't stupid. She obviously knew that the situation was more serious than he had initially let on. Haley had a way of becoming extra clingy when she was scared or worried about something, not that he minded.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her in hopes of reassuring her that everything was fine and smiled slightly against her lips when he felt her swollen stomach pressing into him. At the feel of his smile, she slowly broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his. She looked into his intense blue eyes searching for answers to the many questions she had, unable to find any. "What's going on?" she asked in a soft voice, her forehead never leaving his.

Nathan looked into her chocolate brown eyes, hoping that he was misreading the worry in them and that she was fine. He hated seeing her worried or nervous about anything. "Everything's going to be fine," he assured her as he moved to kiss her forehead and then took her hand. "Come on, I'll tell you all at the same time."

They made their way back over to the table that their friends were sitting at hand in hand. After taking their seats, Brooke immediately gave Nathan a look that said he had better explain now if he knew what was good for him.

"Ok, so I saw the records and Nick and Nicki did go visit Dan in jail," he started, earning nods of understanding from Haley and Lucas and a bewildered face from Brooke.

"What the hell? Nick and Nicki visited your dad in jail? How do you know? What did they want? How come I'm the only one who doesn't understand this?" she questioned in frustration. She hated being left out and now she felt like some kind of fourth wheel in their conversation.

"Chris said something about overhearing Nick and Nicki talking about a 'Mr. Scott', so I went to the prison that Dan's at and looked at the records to see if he was the one that they were talking about," Nathan explained quickly, wanting to get on with the story so they could get far away from here. The last thing he wanted was to be in the same city as the Chavez's.

"They let you just look at the records?" Brooke asked with wide eyes. If Nathan could just walk into a jail and look at the visitation records, then something was seriously wrong with the world.

"No, they had to run a background check, which reminds me, Haley, you have level 2 clearance," he smiled over at her as she rolled her eyes and then laughed. "Anyway, I saw on the records that Nick and Nicki visited Dan, so went to talk to him."

"Oh no," Haley said sympathetically as she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. Seeing Dan was definitely not something to calm him down or keep him level-headed. "How did that go?"

Nathan looked over at her. Telling her that Dan actually said he wished she would be murdered was something she just didn't need to know. It would only upset her and make him even madder in the process. "About as good as it always goes," he stated sullenly.

"But what did he say? Was it important?" Lucas questioned impatiently.

"Would I have asked you guys to stay away from the condos if it wasn't?" Nathan said crossly. Lucas could be really annoying at times. Sure, maybe his own frustration and anger towards the situation was making his temper a little short, but Lucas didn't have to ask dumb questions all the time.

"Nathan," Haley scolded. "He was just asking."

"Sorry," Nathan said in a low voice. "I guess I'm just a little on edge about this whole thing." That was an understatement, he was furious, annoyed, anxious, and a little confused all at the same time.

"Can you tell us what Dan said?" Haley asked softly as she started to run her hand soothingly up and down his arm. She had a feeling that the reason he was so tense had something to do with Dan, and she also knew that what he needed right now was time to cool off, time that they really didn't have if Nick and Nicki were as dangerous as he made them out to be.

"Yeah, Nick and Nicki wanted some information from him, construction codes or something," He said carefully. He wasn't sure how to put this without completely freaking them out. One thing that could not happen was the rest of them getting freaked out and not being able to think clearly. He could handle taking care of Haley if she was scared about the whole thing and maybe Brooke too, but Lucas was on his own. "They're definitely looking for something, something in a safe."

"A safe?" Lucas repeated. "Like money or something?"

"I don't know, but it's somewhere on the third floor, that's why I didn't want you all going back there. At least not yet," Nathan sighed. He still wasn't sure what to do about the whole situation. Bringing the police into the matter wouldn't really work because there was no proof against Nick and Nicki, but he knew that he would never feel safe until he knew Nick and Nicki were not a threat anymore.

"Maybe we should talk to Whitey?" Lucas suggested. "I mean, maybe he has some idea as to what they're looking for."

"That's probably a good idea," Brooke agreed.

"We can do that, but as long as Nick and Nicki are still staying there, Haley and I aren't," Nathan said firmly.

"Well, baby, where else are we supposed to go?" Haley laughed lightly. "All of our stuff is still at the condos."

Nathan thought about this for a moment. He supposed that the only places that they could really go were to a hotel, or back home. "We'll go back to out apartment. We need to finish the nursery anyway, and this is the perfect time."

"Ok…" Haley said slowly. That made sense; but finishing the nursery was only going to take a day or two. Then what were they going to do, just move back home permanently with almost a month of summer still to go? "Are we going to stay there for the rest of the summer?"

"No! Tutor Girl! You can't leave me yet!" Brooke yelled dramatically. "Summer's not over! I don't want to get ripped off and miss out on a whole month with you!"

"Maybe you won't have to," Nathan spoke up. "Ok, so here's my plan. We go home, we can pack what we need for a few days at home, and then we go talk to Whitey. If he decides to let Nick and Nicki stay, then we'll go pack up the rest of our stuff and get out for good, but if he sides with us and kicks Nick and Nicki to the curb, then we'll just go home, finish the nursery, and come back."

"That should work," Lucas agreed. "And Brooke, we can stay in a hotel for a few days and I'm sure Peyton can stay at Jake's."

"What about Tim?" Haley spoke up again. She hadn't even seen him for a couple of days, but she still wanted to make sure he wasn't forgotten in this chaos.

"He's been on some never ending party boat for the past three days," Nathan said with a brief laugh. Of course Tim would find a boat that where parties were held 24/7 and stay on there for a straight 72 hours. "We'll just call him and tell him to stay on for another couple of days."

"But, what if he doesn't want to stay on there for another couple of days? I mean, he has to get bored with partying at some point," she responded sympathetically.

"You do realize we're talking about Tim, don't you?" Brooke laughed. She was pretty sure that Tim Smith would never get tired of partying.

"True," Haley giggled back.

* * *

A little while later Nathan and Haley were on their way up to their condo to start packing up what they needed for their small trip back home. Brooke and Lucas were going to Jake's house to fill him and Peyton in on the situation, and Nathan and Haley had been tasked to talk to Whitey since they were the closest to him.

"How many days should I pack for?" Haley asked as she and Nathan started to ascend the last flight of stairs. Nathan had wanted to take the elevator so she didn't have to walk up them, her feet had recently started to swell a little, but it had been taking forever so she had insisted that they take the stairs.

"I don't know, a few," he shrugged. He had no idea how many days they would be away for and he really didn't know why it would matter.

"Nathan, you do realize that I'm a girl right?" She giggled as he gave her a funny look. "I need to know these things so I know what to pack."

"Ok, how about we plan on being up there for a week, just in case, but if Whitey tells Nick and Nicki to leave, then it will probably only be for a few days," he answered as they made it to the third floor and started walking towards their condo.

"Sounds like a plan," she smiled before stopping suddenly to stare at their condo door. "Nathan, why is it not closed?"

Nathan followed her eyes to see that the door was indeed open slightly. It looked almost as if someone had been leaving in a hurry and not noticed that it was still ajar when they left. "What the hell?" he mumbled. Tim couldn't have been the one to do it because he had a pet peeve about leaving doors open, but not open all the way. Even in his most drunken state Tim would have either left the door open or closed it completely. The only explanation was that someone else had done it.

Haley watched with wide eyes as Nathan stepped in front of her to slowly push the door open. She gasped when here eyes came across the sight inside, she was in no way prepared for what she saw.


	29. Chapter 29

Hey guys...I feel like a bad person right now. I promised that I would start updating sooner and I still haven't done it. :-( Forgive me? I really will start trying harder. Honestly. So, thank you so so so much to all of the amazing people that made my day with reviews. They mean so much to me, you have no idea. Well, I hope you can overlook the fact that this update took forever (again) and enjoy the chapter. :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 29**

Haley gasped when Nathan flung the door open and her eyes came across what was inside. She felt like her head was spinning because never in a million years would she have expected what she saw.

"Holy shit," Nathan mumbled as he stared wide eyed at the sight in front of him. The whole condo was in shambles. Furniture was overturned, lamps were broken, and food, dishes, and ripped pillows were strewn out all over the floor. The door to the refrigerator was open and a strange smell was already starting to accumulate from the spoiling food, and Tim's Playstation was on the floor in pieces. Nathan made a move to step inside but was stopped by Haley grabbing onto his arm to hold him back.

"Nathan, whoever did this could still be inside," she whispered in a weak voice as she held onto his arm for dear life. There was no proof that whoever had broken into their condo and ransacked the whole thing wasn't still inside, and that was what was scaring her the most. As she stared wide-eyed at the mess in front of her, she couldn't help but be terrified that whoever had made the mess could still be in there.

Nathan nodded his head in understanding. He hadn't thought of the possibility that someone was still in their condo, but now that she pointed it out, it seemed very likely. The first thing he had felt when he opened the door was intense anger. Who the hell could do something like this? The answer was obvious, Nick and Nicki. It had to be them; it was the only logical explanation.

He looked around the condo before carefully stepping inside. Haley's heart pounded in her chest as she watched her husband step around a broken vase and quietly make his way to the bedroom doors. All she wanted to do was run up and stand next to him in case the vandal was still in there, but she knew better. In her current condition there was almost nothing she could do to help but call the cops. If the person was hiding out in one of the bedrooms, then her presence by Nathan would only cause problems and put her baby in danger.

Nathan reached for a severed chair leg to use as a weapon before turning back to make sure that Haley was safely standing at the door. After listening and thinking about it, he was fairly certain that no one else was in the condo, but just in case he wanted her as far away as possible. He watched her dial 911 on her cell phone and for a split second, as their eyes locked, he thought about sending her somewhere else, somewhere far away from here, but ultimately he knew that she would never go. Haley was almost as stubborn as him and she hated being told what to do. Part of him thought it was better to have her here anyway. If the person who did this wasn't still here, then he or she could be anywhere and Nathan liked knowing that Haley was close by so he could protect her.

Haley gave him a look that told him to wait and he obeyed. After conversing quietly on the phone with the 911 operator for a minute or two, she gave Nathan the go ahead. She watched intently as he reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it before opening the door to their bedroom. She silently prayed to God as he walked into the bedroom that they shared and she let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding when she saw him emerge moments later.

He nodded his head to her to tell her that the bedroom was safe before slowly going into Tim's bedroom. Haley decided to take her chances in the condo, standing on the outside was driving her crazy, so she carefully maneuvered around the overturned furniture and broken dishes until she was at the door to her and Nathan's bedroom. She pushed the door open again and started to go inside, only to stop and stare with wide eyes at the mess before her. It hadn't occurred to her that the vandal would have ransacked the bedroom too and now that she was seeing it the whole thing it was starting to register in her brain.

Tears started to form in her eyes as she witnessed all of her and Nathan's clothes and personal belongings scattered about on the floor. It was at that moment that she really started to feel the full effect if what happened. She felt violated and disgusted as she walked over to the bed and sat down, picking up the baby blanket that was lying nearby and clutching to her. She looked around and her eyes fell on the now empty closet.

Clothes were all over the floor in mounds leaving the closet completely empty save for one thing. Haley could see something still on the top shelf of the closet, but couldn't remember what it was. She carefully walked over to it as a tear escaped from her eyes and she strained to reach the one object that hadn't been touched. When her fingers finally grasped the soft object she pulled it down to her level and a ghost of a smile crossed her face. It was the teddy bear that Lucas had given her after being such a jerk during the first week or so of the summer.

She sat back down on the bed holding the teddy bear and letting her other hand rest on her baby bump which was already quite large. What kind of world was she bringing a baby into? She didn't want her little boy to ever come face to face with evil like this. He was so innocent and pure; he deserved a world better than this one, one without killing and vandalizing and pain.

Nathan stepped back into the bedroom, having fully inspected the rest of the condo and finding it completely empty, and immediately noticed a few tears slide down Haley's soft cheek. Without a word he walked over and sat next to her on the bed, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her. "The police are on their way?"

Haley nodded as she rested her head on his chest. Right now she wanted to feel safe in an unsafe world and in Nathan's arms was the only place that she could feel that way. "I think this teddy bear was the only thing they didn't touch," she said with a sad smile as she looked down at the brown bear. She knew who had done this, she may not have proof at the moment, but she knew.

As Nathan watched her eye the bear sadly and run her hand over the soft fur, he couldn't help but want to go find Nick and Nicki right now and beat the shit out of them. It was obvious that they were the ones who had done this, obviously in their attempt to find whatever it was they were looking for. As Haley laid her head back on his chest he took a good look around for the first time. He only got angrier as he saw clothing all over the floor and drawers falling out of the dresser. Where were the damn police officers? He wanted them to get here so they could get out.

"Nathan?" Haley's weak voice brought him out of his thoughts as he looked back down at her and saw her glossy eyes. She was scared by this, that was easy to tell from her face, but Nathan could also see that she was deeply saddened. She was the type of person who always wanted to believe the best in people even when they didn't deserve it and it was times like these that that trust in fellow human beings got thrown back in her face.

"Yeah?" he answered as he wrapped his arms around her tighter, hoping to give her a sense of security.

"I don't understand how someone could do this," she said quietly as she removed herself from his embrace and stood up. "I mean, I know that Nick and Nicki did it, but how could they? I don't understand how they can break in here and destroy our personal belongings and still live with themselves."

Nathan watched helplessly as a few more tears escaped from her eyes and she bent down to pick something up off of the floor. He didn't know how to answer her because there was no answer. He himself had no idea how someone could have so much hate in their heart that they could break in here and destroy the place. "Haley, I-"

"I just can't believe that this is the type of world that our son is going to have to grow up in," she said as her voice failed her as she held up one of the onesies that she had bought when she went shopping with Brooke and Peyton. It was all wrinkled, probably from being wadded up on the floor for the majority of the day, and there was a muddy outline of a footprint right in the center of it. "Why us? Why did _we_ have to be living right above them? Why did they have to break into _our_ condo? Why can't we ever have a summer here without something terrible happening?"

Tears were streaming down her face at this point and Nathan quickly got off of the bed and walked over to her, cupping her face with his hands and kissing her forehead lightly. "It's going to be ok, I promise," he said softly as he brushed away a few of her tears with his thumb.

"How can you be sure, Nathan? Look at this place! Half of it is ruined and the other half is just laying on the floor somewhere! For all we know they stole some of our stuff too. Who knows? They probably even went as far as to take the popsicles out of our freezer and the toilet paper from our bathroom. Or better yet, the toilet paper is probably in the freezer now as the popsicles melt in the bathroom! I wouldn't put it past them-"

"Haley," Nathan said soothingly, cutting off her angry rant. He knew her well enough to know that when they had first walked in and seen the condo in shambles she had probably felt a mixture of fear and shock. Now that it had sunk in, she was probably feeling angry and upset along with the fear that he felt sure she would carry around for a while after this. He was angry too, probably even more angry than her, but he knew that right now what she needed was someone to calm her down and comfort her. "Whitey will get the condo cleaned up, Nick and Nicki are going to get arrested, and we're going to get out of here."

"You don't know that," she corrected as she looked up at him.

"That we're going to get out of this condo and go home, yeah I do," he replied jokingly.

"You know what I meant," Haley responded as she fought the small smile that threatened to come over her. She loved the way Nathan had the power to take her mind off of her worries, even if only for a moment.

"Ok, you're right, I don't know for a fact that Nick and Nicki are going to be sent to jail, in fact, I don't even know if they're even still in the country, but I do know that I don't care as long as they're far away from us," he said solemnly as he brought her in close again. Once the police got here and he and Haley answered their questions, then they could finally get out of here and go home. Right now, Nathan wanted to be as far away from here as possible and he wanted Haley far away as well.

They were interrupted by the sound of a key jingling in the lock of the front door. Upon hearing it, Haley immediately froze in terror as stared out the bedroom door at the door that led out of the condo. Nathan instantly looked up at the door too after hearing the noise and feeling Haley tense in his arms.

"Do you think they came back?" Haley whispered in a voice that was thick with fear. She knew that the chances of it being Nick and Nicki that were furiously trying to unlock the door were slim to none, but that didn't keep her from worrying about it anyway.

"No," he assured her, wishing that word could convince him as well. Just in case, he picked up the same chair leg he had used as a weapon before and pulled Haley with him until they were standing by the wall on side of the door, waiting for whoever it was to come inside.

When the door finally opened, Nathan and Haley stood quietly against the wall not knowing who was on the other side of the open door until it was shut firmly closed. Only then did the disheveled and obviously hung-over Tim come into full view.

"What the hell, Nathan?!" Tim yelled when he turned around to see Nathan holding some kind of brown piece of wood in the air as if to hit him with it. "I swear I didn't know it was bra!"

"What?" Haley asked as her mouth dropped open. What about her bra?

"Nothing," he responded quickly before finally taking a look around the condo. "Jesus, what were you guys doing in here?"

"It wasn't us, Tim," Nathan said in an irritated voice, "and don't touch anything."

"Why can't I touch anything?" Tim challenged as he walked over to the couch. He took one look at the ripped open cushions before deciding to stay standing. "Damn, you guys really must have been going at it."

"We didn't do this you moron," Haley said as tears started to form in her eyes again.

"Then who did?" Tim shrugged as if he didn't believe either one of them.

"Nick and Nicki," Nathan said flatly before looking over at the clock. It had been 7 minutes since he and Haley first stepped into the condo. The police officers obviously weren't breaking any speed records trying to get here.

"Oh my God! Who the hell broke my damn Playstation?!" Tim yelled as his eyes came across his toy which was currently spread out on the floor in five different pieces. Neither Nathan nor Haley answered him so Tim assumed that it had also been torn apart by the neighbors. "I'm going to beat the hell out of those jackasses!"

"Tim, Haley and I need to go talk to Whitey about this. The police are on their way; do you think you could wait here for them and not touch anything?" Nathan asked skeptically. Whitey needed to know what happened before a bunch of police officers showed up, but someone had to wait for said police officers. There was no way he was leaving Haley's side so Tim was the only one left to wait.

"Whatever," he mumbled before muttering a string of curse words. He couldn't believe that those assholes had broken his new Playstation. They were going to get it.

"We'll be back in a few minutes," Haley assured him before rushing back to the bedroom as quickly as possible with the obstacles in her way.

"So like, were you serious about Nick and Nicki doing this? Or were you just covering because you and Haley were having wild sex?" Tim asked in a low voice as Nathan gave him an incredulous look.

"Tim, can you stop being an idiot?"

"My bad, it's just that I've heard you guys a few times before and-"

"Just shut up," Nathan said coolly as Haley emerged from the bedroom carrying the brown teddy bear. He wasn't particularly in a good mood at the moment and his friend implying that he and Haley had made this mess was doing nothing but piss him off.

"Fine, jeez," he mumbled as he threw his hands up in defense. "So, Haley, let me guess, you're so scared from all this that you want your teddy to keep you safe?" Tim laughed mockingly causing Haley to tear up again.

"Tim, can you just shut the hell up?" Nathan groaned as he grabbed the bottom of Haley's loose-fitting maternity top and pulled her close to him again. "Don't listen to him, he's a loser," he whispered into her ear, causing the corners of her mouth to turn up in a slight smile.

"For your information, Tim," Haley said as she wiped the salty tears from her eyes, "this was the only thing in our bedroom that wasn't touched."

"So?"

"I thought the police might need to know that, so if they get here before we get back, please tell them," she explained as she extended her arm so Tim could grab the soft brown bear.

"Will do," Tim said sarcastically before setting the bear on the ripped couch. Haley couldn't help but get a little frustrated by the way Tim just threw the bear aside. That bear was the only thing in the condo left unscathed while everything else had been torn apart or thrown around by a few corrupted souls. To Haley, that bear was a lot more precious than any old teddy bear. It was one of the only things she had that hadn't been touched by the cruelness of reality. In some ways, she compared that bear to James, her innocent little baby who had yet to see the evil in the world. Innocence was something to be treasured and protected, not something to be dismissed.

* * *

"Damn expense reports," Whitey mumbled to himself as he shuffled through some papers on his desk. He was currently in the process of paying some bills and had decided to start tallying up Nick's compensation for the month. "Like hell I'm paying for his Big Mac!" Over the past month, Whitey had noticed Nick trying to write off his random fast food lunches as a business expense and Whitey was getting quite tired of it. 

He was taken off guard by a loud knocking at the door and looked up to see Nathan and Haley Scott enter his office. "Well, look who we have here, what can I do for you two?"

"Evict Nick and Nicki," Nathan said flatly as Haley sat down in a chair in front of Whitey's desk and Nathan did the same.

"Nathan, are we back on this again?" Whitey groaned. "We've been through this, I need proof. The fact that you don't like him isn't proof."

"Yeah, well I have proof for you. They went to visit my dad in jail. Apparently they're looking for something here, something valuable. If that's not enough proof for you, go take a look at our condo," he said bitterly. He had grown to respect Whitey a lot over the summer he worked for him four years ago, but that respect seemed to diminish with each passing day that Whitey let Nick and Nicki stay.

"What's wrong with your condo?" Whitey really didn't have time for Nathan's mind games. If there was something wrong with the condo, he would be glad to fix it for them, but he was not about to sit here and let Nathan beat around the bush.

"I don't know, I think it has something to do with the fact that Nick and Nicki ransacked it," he responded in a sarcastic yet serious tone.

"What?"

"You heard me," Nathan said in a low voice as he tried to contain his anger. Talking about the whole thing made it that much harder to keep it bottled up inside. "They broke into our condo looking for whatever the hell it is that they want and basically ruined the whole thing."

"Are you being serious? Damn it Nathan, you better not be joking right now. This is a serious crime," Whitey boomed.

"I know it's serious, that's why we called the cops," Nathan responded coolly.

"You called the cops?" Whitey was so confused. Why was he the last person to know about this? His property was vandalized and he was the last one to hear about it.

"Yeah, they'd better be on their way here, too. We called them 10 minutes ago," Nathan mumbled.

"10 minutes ago? Why the hell are you just now telling me this?" he demanded as he stood up and started pacing. "How do you know it was Nick and his sister?"

"Well, because…" Nathan didn't really know what to say. He knew Nick and Nicki had done it because it was obvious and also because he could just feel it. There was no proof at this point, but who else would have done it?

"Because they're the only ones with a key besides you," Haley spoke up as both men turned to look at her. "I am sure that I locked the door when I left and since the door wasn't broken or anything, whoever did it had a key. Either that or they picked the lock."

"Nick does have a key to all of the condos," Whitey said out loud as he tried to piece the puzzle together. "You said that they're looking for something, what is it?"

"I don't know," Nathan answered as he eyed Whitey suspiciously. The old man had to know what it was they were looking for. He just had to.

"I think I do…" he trailed off as he turned around and stared at a picture of Camilla in a fancy ball gown. "So, it was only your condo? Not condo 9 or any other one?"

"Just ours," Nathan assured him as he and Haley waited patiently for the long awaited explanation.

Whitey sighed as he picked the picture up and handed it to Nathan to look at. "That picture was taken in Austria, when Camilla was only 18 years old."

"Ok…" The picture was in black and white and Camilla looked beautiful in her floor length dress, but Nathan failed to see how this picture related to the fact that Nick and Nicki were looking for something valuable and were tearing his condo apart in the process.

"I don't know if I mentioned this to you or not when I gave you the baby blanket, but Camilla is a descendant of a very wealthy line of Austrian nobility. In her family, there is a tradition that on each of the descendants' 18th birthdays there was to be a celebration and something would be passed down to them." Whitey started.

"Every time someone turned 18? Didn't that get to be a little excessive?" Haley asked curiously from her seat as her hand unconsciously rubbed over her baby bump.

Whitey chuckled before answering her, "no, the family line is very small, that's why they were so wealthy. They didn't have to spread the wealth out amongst a large family." Nathan and Haley nodded in understanding. "Anyway, on Camilla's 18th birthday she was given a large emerald necklace, one worth quite a fortune. A few years later she married me and a while after that we bought this condo complex."

"So Nick and Nicki are looking for the emerald necklace?" Nathan clarified out loud. "Is it hidden somewhere in our condo?"

"Camilla never trusted banks or safety deposit boxes with her most valuable possessions, she had seen too many movies where all of the security in the world doesn't keep a determined criminal out, so we decided to hide the necklace ourselves. We had been meaning to renovate some of the condos upstairs, so we put a safe inside of your condo," he sighed.

"Where? Our condo is a wreck, they probably already found it," Haley said in a small voice. She really hoped that wasn't the case. This necklace meant something to Whitey not because it was worth a lot of money, but because it belonged to Camilla.

"Oh I don't know about that," he chuckled in response. "Are the cabinets in your kitchen still in tact?"

"Some of them…I mean, most of the doors are either disconnected or bashed in, but other than that, yeah." Nathan said confusedly.

"The safe is behind one of those cabinets. Now, listen to me, I'm only telling you this because I trust you both and because I think you both need to know, just in case." As soon as Haley heard that the safe was hidden behind one of the cabinets, she immediately remembered back to a few weeks ago when Nathan was sick and she had been making chicken noodle soup for him. That weird hollowed out noise must have been from the safe. "I still can't understand how anyone could have found out about the necklace in the first place."

"Whitey, you do believe us that it was Nick and Nicki, don't you?" Nathan asked pleadingly.

"I do believe you," he sighed. It all added up now that the facts had been presented to him. Things that Nick had said and done now made sense thanks to Nathan and Haley. "And, it's going to kill me to say this, but I'm sorry I didn't believe you in the first place."

"It's ok," Haley smiled as she stood up and walked around the desk to give Whitey a reassuring hug. "Does that mean that you'll kick them out?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to, especially if they don't get arrested," he chuckled. He wasn't really laughing at the words he had just said, but more about the fact that Haley's inflated stomach along with his own overgrown gut prevented her from really being able to get close to him. He was a little worried about finding a reasonable excuse to evict Nick and his sister, but he didn't want to say that in front of Haley. She had too much going on right now to worry about a Chavez backlash. Besides, they were more than likely going to get arrested for vandalism. "Anyway, shouldn't you be resting? This recent stress can't be good for you."

"I'm fine," Haley assured him before looking over at Nathan to see him giving her a look that said he agreed with the old man. "Nathan and I are going back home for a few days now to finish the nursery anyway, so I'll get plenty of rest while I'm there."

"So, you are planning on coming back then? I mean, to stay for the rest of the summer?"

Haley looked over at Nathan as if to tell him to answer the question. Sure, she was quite certain that she would always feel a little freaked out in that condo now, but as long as Nathan was with her she was sure she'd be fine and as long as Nick and Nicki were no where around she would be able to sleep peacefully.

"We'll come back as long as Nick and Nicki are far away," he answered and was met by an approving nod from Whitey.

"Speaking of, I'm going to call Nick in here right now before he gets too suspicious that I know something. I wouldn't be surprised if those cop cars out there already scared him off. You can tell your police buddies that he's most likely in here if they want to question him."

"Ok, well, we're going to get out of here then. The police probably want to talk to us-they're probably going to want to talk to you too eventually- and we still need to find whatever we can in the condo to take home with us," Nathan said as he stood up and took Haley's hand. "Thank you, Whitey. For everything."

Haley wasn't exactly sure how this was all going to work out. She had confidence that Whitey was going to get the condo put back together for them, but she really didn't care about the condo or her personal belongings. All she wanted was to finish out the summer safely and with as little drama as possible. Somehow though, she knew that that would be impossible. As she and Nathan passed the two parked cop cars and then entered into the building, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.


	30. Chapter 30

Hello again, thank you so much to everyone who sent me a review. You are all amazing. So this chapter is going to be dedicated to all of the Naliens out there who are in a not so good mood because of Mark Schwahn...:-P I hope this will help cheer you up. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 30**

"I don't think I realized how much I love having a clean apartment until now," Haley joked as she and Nathan walked into their two bedroom apartment in Durham, North Carolina. Everything was in order, just they way they had left it in the beginning of the summer, and Haley couldn't be more pleased about that. Ever since the vandalism yesterday, Haley had been a little paranoid and always got scared that every time she opened a door the other side would look like their condo.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Nathan smiled as he walked over to the couch and laid down, grabbing the remote after he was comfortable. Tim had decided to stay at a friend's house by the beach while the condo was restored because he didn't want to 'miss out on the party scene', so Nathan was looking forward to having the TV to himself for the next couple of days.

"Nathan, you do realize that the reason we came back here was to finish the nursery, right? That means you can't be on the couch all day," she giggled as she got a bottle of water out of the fridge and started to drink it. They were both tired at this point because last night they had gone to a hotel to sleep. While there, Haley had completely broken down about the events of the day. Some of it had been from hormones, but a lot of it was from the traumatizing revelation that someone had broken into her condo and purposely destroyed it. Nathan had done his best to calm her and reassure her that everything was fine, but he had been so tired from driving to and from Charlotte in one day and answering about 1,000 questions from the police that he hadn't been much help.

"Haley," Nathan whined. "I'm tired; I didn't get much sleep last night because you were so freaked out." He immediately regretted what he had said when he saw the anger, hurt, and irritation flash across her face. _Shit._

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry I'm such a burden to you," she said bitterly as she stared daggers into him. Nathan knew she was probably going to start making her way to the bedroom where she was going to lock herself in and probably refuse to talk to him for a while any minute now.

"Haley, that's not what I mean-"

"It's fine, Nathan. I get it. You're tired and you don't want your fat emotional wife keeping you from your much needed sleep," she huffed.

"What? You're not- would you just come here for a minute?" He reached out and quickly grabbed hold of her arm as she walked past him to get to the bedroom, pulling her on top of him.

"Nathan, let me go," she commanded as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her in place, careful not to hold her too close or too tightly. "I don't want to disturb your much needed rest."

"Haley, you know that's not the way I meant it," Nathan sighed. Her hormones had been going crazy since yesterday, probably from the stress of what had happened. He couldn't blame her, either. She was dealing with a lot right now. He wasn't the one that had to carry the baby so he should have no right to complain about being tired. "I'm sorry, I just meant that I hate seeing you upset like that and that's why I couldn't sleep very well last night."

Haley looked at him, trying to decide if that was a white lie or not. He was easy to read, at least to her he was, and within about 3 seconds she was able to tell that what he had said hadn't been the complete truth. "No, you couldn't sleep because I had a meltdown," she corrected sheepishly.

"Wait, now you're embarrassed about that? 10 seconds ago you were mad at me," he chuckled.

"So now you're making fun of my mood swings?" she demanded sternly but still playfully.

"No!" he defended himself quickly. "You know I love your mood swings."

"Yeah right," she laughed. "You love them as much as I love clowns."

"Ok, so maybe I don't love them," he chuckled. "But I think they make you look pretty sexy."

"What? How can mood swings make me look sexy?" Haley giggled. It amazed her how with Nathan she could go from furious to giggling in about a minute. She always ended up staying madder for longer if it was Tim or someone else who had upset her, but with Nathan the anger always vanished quickly. "Don't they freak you out?"

"At first they did," he admitted with a playful smile. He still remembered the first time he had witnessed one of her mood swings and how weird it had been. It was during the school year and he and Haley had been watching a basketball game on TV. Haley had started to lose interest after the first few minutes but Nathan had to watch the game to prepare for one of his own upcoming games so he told her that she didn't have to watch if she didn't want to. Of course, she had started crying and saying how he didn't want her to watch the game with him and when he tried to calm her down she only got worse. The part that had both amused and scared him the most was that about a minute later she attacked him with her lips, barely giving him time to comprehend what she was doing. He decided then and there that he liked her mood swings. "But now I think they're cute."

"Sure," she giggled sarcastically. "I'm sure that's what you're thinking when I bite your head off about nothing."

"Yup," he confirmed as she rolled her eyes playfully. "What? I'm serious. Every time you go from pissed to all lovey-dovey I fall more in love with you."

Haley blushed at his words and the intensity with which he was staring at her before moving her head down to snuggle it in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry I kept you awake."

"It's ok, baby," Nathan said soothingly as he started to draw circles on her back. They were both really tired; the nursery could wait until tomorrow. "How about we take a quick nap, then we can go out and get something to eat. Maybe we can finish the nursery tomorrow?"

"That sounds good," she conceded as she closed her eyes and let herself be lulled to sleep by the soft contact of his hand on her back. He knew that whenever he did that she was sure to fall asleep, and sometimes she wondered if that was why he did it. A few minutes later Nathan watched as her eyes closed and she slowly succumbed to a light and peaceful sleep. Ever since she got pregnant it had become easier and easier to get her to sleep. He supposed it was because the pregnancy was taking most of her energy, but it was still amazing to watch her fall asleep on top of him in less than 5 minutes.

He knew that she was in a very light sleep right now and would probably wake up with any sudden movement, so he continued to rub her back as thought about the events of the past few days. He still hadn't decided whether or not he wanted to go back to the condos for the rest of the summer after everything that happened. As far as he knew, Nick and Nicki had yet to be found and the last thing he wanted was for them to come seeking revenge.

After the incident yesterday, Nathan and Haley had begun to scour the condo for all of the essentials that they would need to take with them back to their apartment, such as Haley's vitamins, Nathan's favorite basketball shorts, and their baby's sonogram pictures that had been taken while they were down there. Nathan had been informed by the police later that night as Haley was in the hotel's shower that they had been unable to find Nick and Nicki anywhere and suspected that they were in hiding. Nathan still hadn't found the right time to tell Haley this. She was under the impression that Nick and Nicki were in custody and he didn't want to be the one to scare her by saying they were missing. She had been under so much stress lately with the Dan thing, and the Chavez thing, and it couldn't be good for the baby. He wanted to give the police a few more days to find Nick and Nicki before telling her and getting her all worked up again.

As she stirred a little in his arms he couldn't help the smile that came over him upon seeing and feeling her soft face nestled into his neck. What did he ever do without her? The days before Haley all seemed to blend together in his mind. They were all the same. Hang out with Peyton and Tim, go to parties, get drunk, and fight with Dan. His life had been like that for almost as long as he could remember up until he met Haley.

When he was around her he wanted to be a better person and he still felt that way after 4 years. She challenged him to be the guy that he knew she deserved, although he doubted he'd ever be good enough to deserve her. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and just amazing overall. She was the one person that was able to see past the bad ass act that he put on for everyone else and she was the only one that had been able to break through his walls and convince him to drop the act. She was the first person who had ever heard him sing and he was positive that she was going to be the only. She was his everything and nothing could ever change that.

* * *

"Nathan, that's not supposed to go there," Haley said matter-of-factly as she looked from the directions she was holding in her hand to the half assembled crib in front of her. 

"Yes it is, it fits doesn't it?" Nathan was getting a little aggravated by putting this crib together. It was so complicated and he'd already been working on it for an hour and was only half-way finished. The directions hadn't made sense, so he had thrown them out about 20 minutes ago and started winging it.

"Yes, it fits, but it's in the wrong spot," she countered as she looked at the directions again. "You have to do it right or it will break when James is sleeping in it!"

"Hales, it's not going to break," Nathan assured her as he looked down at the half assembled crib again. "I don't think."

"That's it, give me that," Haley demanded as she stepped forward and tried to grab the screw driver from his hand. If he wasn't going to do it right, then she was.

"What? No way," Nathan responded as he quickly moved his hand backwards so she couldn't reach it. "I'm putting together the crib. You're putting away the stuffed animals, remember?"

"I already finished that," she reminded him with fixed eyes. She had finished putting the stuffed animals on their shelves about 15 minutes ago, hadn't he noticed?

"Ok, then weren't you going to fold up all the clothes when that was done?" Nathan inquired. He knew that she had finished both of these tasks, but he didn't want her doing his job for him. Haley only stared at him intently, knowing that he knew full well that she had finished folding up the clothes. "Well, I'm a little thirsty, why don't you go make some lemonade or something? Didn't you say you want some lemonade?"

"I wanted lemonade a half an hour ago, not anymore," Haley huffed. Why did guys' egos always keep them from using their brains? How hard was it to follow the directions on how to assemble a baby crib? "Just let me help you."

"I don't need help," Nathan answered cockily. He was perfectly capable of putting his son's bed together by himself.

"Fine. Be that way," she huffed as she turned around and left the room, taking the directions with her. If he was going to be all macho and put the crib together without her help, then he was going to have to do it without the help of the directions too. Not that he had been using them anyway.

Nathan sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. _Great_. Now he was going to have to go apologize for wanting to put together the crib by himself. Was it really so wrong of him to want her to relax while he did the work? For a moment, he pondered just staying in here and finishing the crib the best that he could, but ultimately decided against it. Failing to apologize would certainly earn him a night on the couch. He quickly got up off his seat on the ground and made his way to the kitchen where he saw her biting away at an apple.

He smirked as he watched her; Haley loved to eat fruit when she was upset so there was always a supply of fresh fruit wherever they went. It calmed her nerves. Yesterday after they woke up from their nap, they had gone out to dinner and then straight to the grocery store. All of their fresh foods had been thrown out before they left so they didn't spoil over the summer, so they had needed the essentials such as milk, bread, and fruits.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to let me help?" she said evenly as she bit into the apple again and scanned her eyes over the directions to the crib assembly.

"Haley, why do you want to help?" he sighed. Ever since she and her friend Shachar went to that women's rights convention, she always assumed that him not wanting her to do something was because she was a girl. Of course, she never really believed that, but she always seemed to pull that one out in small arguments like these.

"Because, I want it to be done right and if you're not going to follow the directions, then I will," Haley huffed. She really didn't want to put the bed together, but she definitely didn't want to worry about it breaking once the baby was born.

"Fine, I'll follow the directions," he conceded with a sigh.

Haley eyed him suspiciously. "Why did you give in so fast? Do you really have that big of a problem with me helping you?"

"No, of course I don't. I would just rather see you resting, that's all," Nathan responded sincerely as he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to the living room. "Sit," he commanded. She did as she was told started to lower herself to the floor to sit, struggling to ease down and not just fall on her butt. "Haley, you can sit on the couch," Nathan laughed as he grabbed her by the waist and stood her back up.

"I was just doing what you asked," she shrugged playfully. She knew that he would never ask her to sit on the floor, but she loved teasing him.

"Funny," he laughed sarcastically as he sat down on the couch next to her. "Ok, so I know you've been under a lot of stress lately and that's one of the reasons I want to put the crib together myself."

"Nathan, helping you put together the baby's bed isn't exactly high stress level or anything," Haley giggled.

"I know, I just worry about you sometimes," he admitted as he reached over to tuck some of her loose hair behind her ear. "I mean, you've had a lot going on lately and all of this Nick and Nicki stress can't be good for you…"

"I'm fine, seriously I am," she smiled lovingly at him. She loved that he worried about her and that he thought she was going to get too stressed by simply assembling a baby crib. "Helping you isn't going to hurt me or the baby."

"I know, it's just, it's all the other stuff I'm worried about," he sighed in frustration. He hated feeling like she was a walking time bomb, that something could go wrong with her at any moment.

"Babe, you don't have to be worried about that other stuff any more. Nick and Nicki will go to jail, and they were really the only things that stressed me out at all. Plus, being at the beach totally neutralized the stress," she joked. Her face turned more serious however when she saw the conflicted expression on his face. "What?"

Nathan looked up at her, he couldn't tell her about Nick and Nicki just disappearing, but he couldn't keep it a secret forever either. "It's nothing," he assured her. The stern look on her face told him that he was not going to get off with that explanation. "Just some Dan stuff I'm still thinking about."

Haley looked at him worriedly before reaching up to run one of her hands softly down his face. "Do you want to talk about it?" Nathan shook his head. Yes, there were a few Dan things he was still dealing with, but that wasn't really what had been occupying his thoughts. "Ok, well, I'll be here if you change your mind," she said softly.

"I know," Nathan nodded, grateful that she wasn't going to press any farther. "Anyway, back to the original point of this conversation, I would really rather if you just laid here on the couch and watched TV or something."

"But I want to help you," she tried again, letting her bottom lip stick out in a pout. She didn't want to sit on the sidelines and watch her husband put the baby crib together the wrong way.

"I promise I'll follow all of the directions," he pleaded. "Hales, you've already done most of the work in the nursery because I was messing with that stupid bed. Just let me do this, ok?"

Haley eyed him, trying to make up her mind. "But I'll be bored out here watching TV if you're in the other room putting the crib together," she pouted.

"Well, then you can come in the nursery and watch me," he suggested with a smirk, knowing that she would hate that idea just as much.

"I've got a better idea, how about I can tell you what to do? You know, like read you the directions," Haley smiled. She had a feeling that this idea wouldn't be too appealing to him, but since he didn't understand the directions and she did, this was a logical compromise.

"Do you have to?" Nathan groaned playfully as Haley nodded her head. If there was one thing that he knew about her, it was that there was no changing her mind. "Fine, at least there's no lifting or anything involved with reading the directions."

"Nathan, there's no lifting involved in assembling the crib either," she giggled as the phone in the apartment started to ring.

"Yes there is, you have to lift the screwdriver and the pieces," Nathan responded playfully as he got up off the couch to answer the phone. He assumed that the person on the other end was Lucas because he had promised to call and update them on what was going on at the condos.

"Oh, how could I forget?" she giggled as she pulled herself up off the couch and made her way into the kitchen to grab the directions.

"Hello?" Nathan said as he picked up the cordless phone on the table next to the couch.

"Nathan, it's me," Lucas's voice answered through the other end of the phone. Nathan noticed that his voice was no where near happy and he wasn't sure if that should worry him or not.

"Hey man, what's up?" Nathan wanted to keep the conversation light until Haley was in the nursery and out of earshot because she still didn't know how serious the situation with the Chavez's was. He watched as Haley grabbed the directions and proceeded to make her way back into the nursery where he was sure she was going to arrange all of the pieces in height order.

"So, Whitey has your condo all fixed up," Lucas started. The old man had worked his butt off getting people brought in to restore condo 10 as quickly as possible. Lucas guessed that it was partly out of guilt and partly because he cared about Nathan and Haley.

"Already? It's only been 2 days," Nathan said in disbelief. He had assumed that it would take quite a bit longer than that considering that everything needed to be either cleaned up or replaced.

"Yeah, the condo looks the same as…well…before everything," Lucas stated still in that low voice that had Nathan growing more concerned with every passing minute.

"Where's Peyton? Is she still with Jake?"

"Yeah, she's been over there since you came back from Charlotte. Brooke's talked to her and asked her if she wants to come home but she says she feels more comfortable and more useful with Jake right now," Lucas responded evenly. He knew that Peyton was one of Nathan's best friends and knew that he must be worried about her being down there. "Tim's fine too, he's already back in your condo."

"That's good…" Nathan trailed off, hoping he didn't have to ask the next question out loud for fear that Haley would hear.

"Listen, about Nick and Nicki, the police still haven't found them. It's obvious that they're hiding somewhere and I think they probably skipped town," Lucas said slowly. He knew how Nathan thought, and he knew that Nathan didn't want to go anywhere near the beach until he was sure that Nick and Nicki wouldn't be there.

"Well, we're not coming back unless they're behind bars," Nathan said firmly in a low voice so Haley wouldn't hear.

"Haley doesn't know yet?" Lucas asked, already knowing the answer. In his opinion, keeping the truth from Haley for the time being was the best way to go. She didn't need the stress of knowing they were still out there somewhere added to the stress she already had from what they had done.

"No, I just, I want to give the police a little more time to find them before I tell her," Nathan sighed. The police were running out of time. He couldn't keep this from her forever.

"If you want my opinion, I think that's smart," Lucas said. "But, just so you know, Whitey's having a new security system put in tomorrow, so I think if you want to come back after that it would be pretty safe."

"Ok, thanks Luke, we'll talk it over." Nathan responded in a low voice. He knew Haley wanted to go back, but he definitely didn't.

* * *

"Nick, you are the dumbest human being on the planet," Nicki hissed as she and Nick finally made it to the safe house that their family owned. They had ransacked condo 10 two days ago and has finally made it to the mountains. Nicki had thought it best to take small back roads the whole way there so they wouldn't be followed and Nick had agreed. 

"No I'm not! So my idea didn't go according to plan, big deal? We still have another month to get the necklace," Nick yelled angrily. He was sick of his sister always putting his ideas down.

"You said you knew where it was so when we went in to look for it you could grab it without making it known that we were there," Nicki spat back. "That really didn't work, and now we're in hiding!"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, Nicki," Nick snapped. "They don't have any proof that it was us."

"You don't know that. God, it is so good that the family business isn't stealing expensive jewelry because you suck at it."

"Whatever, you're just jealous because I'm going to make a better bookie than you," Nick yelled back angrily.

"Oh please, it was your terrible skills as a bookie that got the business into debt in the first place. Hence the reason we're going after the necklace," Nicki said bitterly. Nick always managed to ruin her life.

"We'll find the necklace, we just need to do more research before we go back," Nick said with confidence.

"I don't think so," Nick scoffed. "They probably have half of the city out looking for us and even if they don't there's no way the old man would let us anywhere near the condo."

"Then we'll just kill him," Nick shrugged. "And anyone else who gets in our way. Our lives depend on that necklace and I'll be damned if I let some senile old prune keep me from it."

"I like the way you're talking big brother," Nicki smiled proudly. She always knew that Nick had it in him to be ruthless; it just took something like this to bring it out.

"We need to do some more research; I want to know the exact location of the safe before we go back because we only get one chance." They had a very small window of opportunity for this. At this point, he was almost positive that the necklace was hidden somewhere in condo 10, he just didn't know where. All he knew was that he was going to find it, and anyone that got in his way was going to pay.


	31. Chapter 31

Hello everyone, I'm here with the next chapter. :-) First, as always, I want to thank all of the amazing people who reviewed...you all make my days brighter. So thank you. I hope you all enjoy chapter 31...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 31**

"It feels weird to be back here again," Haley commented with a nervous laugh as she and Nathan pulled into the parking lot of the condo complex and stepped out of their new Escalade. On their way home from the apartment they had stopped in Tree Hill to stay with Haley's parents for a night and while they were there they had finally exchanged the Range Rover for the Escalade. Both Nathan and Haley had been perfectly fine with the Range Rover, but Deb had insisted that they try out the Escalade, at least for a few weeks.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Nathan responded as he looked towards the building which now seemed to have a somewhat darker aura surrounding it. He and Haley had stayed up in Durham for four days and then in Tree Hill for one, but Nathan still felt as though it were too soon to come back. He had talked to Lucas quite a few times over the last few days and he had assured him that everything back at the beach was back to normal, but Nathan couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about returning. Nick and Nicki still hadn't been found and although the chances of them returning had decreased immensely, he still felt a little uncomfortable.

He still hadn't told Haley about the situation with the Chavez's. No one had ever told her that they were in custody, but no one had told her otherwise either so she had assumed that they were safely locked away. For the time being, Nathan wanted it to stay that way. If Nick and Nicki weren't found in the next couple of days, then he would tell her, but he didn't want to give up the hope that they would be taken into custody just yet. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her over nothing.

"So, Lucas said that there's a new security system, that's good," Haley smiled as she reached over and grabbed his hand and they started to make their way to the condo complex. She was a little nervous to return and she was more than a little nervous to set foot in that condo again, but it was something she wanted to do and something she needed to do in order to move past what had happened a few days ago. She had to get the image of the destroyed condo out of her mind.

"Yeah," he responded simply as he laced their fingers together. The only reason he had agreed to coming back was because of the security system. Sure, Haley's wanting to come back here for the rest of the summer had played a part in his decision, but the deciding factor was the new security system. He felt much better about living out the remainder of the summer here, and letting Haley do the same, now that he was fairly certain that Nick and Nicki couldn't come back and even if they did, that they wouldn't be able to get near either of them.

"Nathan, what's wrong?" she asked suddenly as she stopped walking and stared at him. She had noticed that something was bothering him on their drive down here and apparently whatever it was was still on his mind.

"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing," he answered dismissively, trying to ignore the suspicious look she was giving him.

"Yeah right," she giggled. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered again in what he hoped was a convincing voice. "I guess I'm just a little worried about coming back here."

"Me too," Haley sighed as she leaned up against his shoulder. It was an understatement to say she was a little worried. She kept imagining opening the door to the condo and seeing it in shambles again and it was terrifying her. She never wanted to feel that scared and violated again.

Nathan looked down at her for a second before they made their way to the stairs and started to go up. With each passing step, Haley wondered more and more why she and Nathan never took the elevator. Her ever swelling feet would certainly enjoy the ride more than the steps. She supposed it was because the elevator was old and Nathan was often leery of getting on it. He had never really been a fan of elevators.

As they approached the door of condo 10, Haley shuddered faintly at the memory of coming home and seeing the door open ever so slightly. The feelings she had felt at that time were feelings that she was sure she would never forget and for that she was somewhat grateful. If she could at least learn something from the whole experience then what happened wouldn't have been all bad.

Nathan pulled his key from his pocket and stepped in front of her to unlock the door. He swiftly unlocked it, preparing for the worst. He knew the condo would undoubtedly look fine, probably even better than it had when they had moved in for the summer, but there was still that never ending voice in his head that kept telling him it would happen again. That someone would break into his home again and purposely destroy it.

He wasn't afraid of that happening, more like he was furious to think that it could happen again. The first time had really gotten under his skin, so much so that he had been ready to strangle Nick and maybe even Nicki with his bare hands if the opportunity had been presented. But he had tried his best to keep that anger buried because he knew that Haley would need him to be calm and collected as she tried to make sense of it all. The only problem was that there was no way to make sense of the incident because it in itself did not make sense.

Haley let out a sigh of relief when the door was fully opened and their perfectly restored condo came into view. A new couch sat facing the TV where another new Playstation was resting. The kitchen was spotless and no longer smelled of decaying foods. There was also a wrapped box sitting on the counter top and Haley curiously made her way over to it as a smile started to spread across her face.

Nathan stared around at the condo in shock and awe. Not only did the place look 100 times better than the last time he had seen it, but it also looked better than it had since about the first week that they had been living here. Although Haley had done her best to keep the place clean and Nathan had helped every now and then, Tim's untidy habits had often polluted every room but their bedroom. Nathan couldn't believe that Tim had been living in the condo again for the past three days and there were no open potato chip bags, no boxers laying on the floor, and no spilled beer cans. This was a first.

"Nathan, look at this," Haley smiled up as him as she motioned for him to come over to the counter where the colorfully wrapped box was sitting.

"What's this?" Nathan hadn't noticed the box when they first walked in, probably because he was too taken aback by the cleanliness of the floors, walls, and furniture.

"It's from Whitey," Haley beamed as she read over the card once again and then handed it to Nathan to read. Nathan looked at her curiously before lowering his eyes to the card.

"Dear Haley and Nathan," Nathan looked up at Haley pointedly. "I'm telling you, the old man hates me. He even put your name first on the card."

"Maybe he was going in alphabetical order?" Haley suggested with a giggle. "Or, it could be that he realized that I'm just better than you."

"That's true," Nathan shrugged with a smirk before reading on. "I wanted to express my sorrow over everything that happened last week but I'm not good with apologetic words so I decided to give you an apologetic gift. I've found myself getting real lethargic and sentimental over the past few months, ever since Camilla passed away, and this gift was something I found in a box somewhere in my closet- great, so now the geezer is re-gifting?" Nathan chuckled playfully as Haley rolled her eyes.

"Nathan, you have to read the rest of it, he's not giving us some old cookie jar that someone bought for him he didn't like, he's giving us something important to him," she chided with a smile. She couldn't wait for him to finish reading so she could open the present. One of her weaknesses had always been gifts. If there was a wrapped gift sitting in front of her, it was extremely hard for her to keep from opening it sight on scene.

"Ok, ok, I'm reading," he chuckled. "They were something that my father gave to me and Camilla and now I want you both to have them. Don't try to return them either, because I have no use for them anymore, so you best take them and run. I'll talk to you both soon, your landlord. Wow, what an original signature, you think he wants us to call him landlord now instead of Whitey?"

"Nathan, be serious!" Haley scolded as she began to carefully take off the wrapping paper. Although she couldn't wait to see what was inside of the box, she didn't want to ruin the gorgeous paper that surrounded it. Once the paper had been carefully set aside, Haley quickly opened the box and let out a small gasp before reaching her hand in a pulling out two identical crystal wine glasses.

She stared at them with a smile on her face as Nathan reached into the box and pulled out yet another note. "There had better not be anything but grape juice put into these for the next couple of months," he read aloud with a chuckle.

"Nathan, these belonged to Whitey's dad, do you know how old that makes them?"

"Uh, well since Whitey's a dinosaur I'm going to have to go with ancient," Nathan smirked as Haley rolled her eyes again.

"Camilla and Whitey probably drank out of these at their wedding." Tears were starting to fill her eyes as she ran her hand over one of the beautiful glasses. She didn't know where to start in expressing her gratitude towards the old man. "I think we should take Whitey out to dinner some night."

"What? Haley," Nathan whined, "He probably doesn't even have any teeth to eat with. I hear dentures are all the rage among people his age."

"Nathan, I'm serious. We need a way to thank him because he has been so good to us. Just think, without him, we wouldn't have fallen in love," Haley smiled slightly as she set the wine glasses gently down on the counter and then looked at Nathan who seemed to be considering what she had just said.

"We might have fallen in love if it weren't for the old man," Nathan concluded defensively. Anything was possible…

"Yeah right, you didn't even know I existed before he made us work together," she laughed good-naturedly. She had long since gotten over the fact that Nathan was an ass before she met him.

"Yes I did! I knew your name," Nathan defended himself. There was no way he was letting the old man take credit for helping him find the love of his life.

"You knew my name…" Haley giggled as she shook her head. "You knew nothing about me and you didn't care about getting to know me. Therefore, Whitey helped us fall in love."

"Whatever," Nathan dismissed playfully with a smirk. "You and I both know that we fell in love because you were just so attracted to my good looks, not because we had to work together all summer."

"Oh yeah, that was it," Haley laughed sarcastically as Nathan's cell phone started to vibrate. "Are you going to answer that?"

Nathan nodded his head and then reached into his pocket for his phone, groaning when he saw that it was Tim on the other line. He had assumed and hoped that Tim was at another never-ending party. "What do you want, Tim?"

"Dude, you have to come down here, it's like, invasion of the girls!"

"What the hell are you talking about and where the hell are you?" Nathan asked confusedly.

"At the pool, you know, at the condo's pool," he clarified. "Dude, I'm serious, there are like 5 new girls that just moved in! I think I died and went to Heaven."

Nathan wasn't sure if Tim actually thought he would be interested in going down to the pool to check out these girls or not, but decided that asking would only result in confusion on Tim's part. Tim didn't understand that when you're married you don't spend time checking out other girls and he definitely didn't understand that when you're in love you have no interest in checking out other girls. "Are Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton down there?"

"Yeah," Tim said dismissively. "But I didn't even notice them because of all the new girls!"

"Tim, we just got home, we'll be down in a little while," Nathan conceded before looking to Haley who had obviously assumed correctly that they were heading down to the pool after unpacking what little they had taken with them back home. "Is that ok of we go down there in a little bit?"

"Yeah, I really want to see everyone. It's weird because I'm so used to seeing them all every day now that 5 days without them seems like forever," she giggled as Nathan nodded in agreement. "Plus, this would be a good time to invite Whitey to dinner," she winked as Nathan sighed, he wasn't going to win this battle.

* * *

"So then I said, 'John, has anyone ever told you that you look so much like a girl it's scary' and do you know what John did? He punched me! I mean, I was obviously referring to his role in Hairspray, but no, he thought I was talking about real life. I'm telling you, John Travolta is not the brightest bulb in the box if you catch my drift," Chris rambled as Peyton listened, obviously bored out of her mind as well as ready to wipe the annoying smile off of Chris's face.

Somehow, she had been the only one left to deal with Chris's pathological lying after Tim ditched her for the two new girls and Lucas and Brooke made their way to a lounge chair on the opposite side of the pool area to make out. Peyton was surprised that Whitey hadn't kicked them out yet, they were really getting into it over there.

Suddenly, the gate to enter into the pool area creaked open and Peyton's head shot up too see her two best friends enter. "You guys are home!" she yelled excitedly as she ran over to them, leaving Chris in the dust. "When did you get back?" she asked, engulfing Haley in a hug.

"Uh, about a half an hour ago," Haley answered as her eyes came across Lucas and Brooke. "Have they been doing that all morning?"

Peyton nodded her head with a disgusted face before turning to Nathan who also wore a dismayed face, but for a different reason. "No one told us Chris was down here," he complained. The last thing he wanted to do was be anywhere near that moron.

"Hmm, that's too bad. I've been listening to his 'riveting' stories for the past 15 minutes," Peyton groaned lightly. Nathan and Haley both knew how she felt. Most of the time Chris didn't know when to stop telling those ridiculous lies.

"Nathan, come here!" Tim called from the other side of the pool. Nathan apologetically excused himself, leaving the girls to discuss the last 5 days. "Nathan, these are our new new neighbors." Nathan looked at the two girls in front of him, hadn't Tim said there were five? They both looked about his age, one maybe a little younger. "I'm telling you, God loves me. Girls, this is my friend Nathan Scott."

"Hi, I'm Morgan, but you can call me Jessica," the younger looking one smiled as she extended her hand. Nathan shook it with a somewhat bewildered face. How can you get Jessica from Morgan? As if reading his mind, the girl added, "Jessica's my middle name."

"Jess can play the guitar," Tim smiled sweetly as he stared at the girl with dreamy eyes.

"Hey, I'm Kirstie," the second one introduced herself. Nathan shook the brown haired girl's hand next and waited for Tim to add something about her. Sure enough, he did.

"Kirstie is the new janitor for the condos." With that, Nathan looked at her a little more interested. When had Whitey hired a new janitor? He actually found it somewhat calming to meet the new maintenance worker because now he could officially get Nick out of that position in his mind.

"Really? How did that come about?" Nathan asked curiously. He never would have pegged either of the two girls for heavy work like this job required.

"Well, I needed money so I can study abroad next year," Kirstie answered politely. "And Jess and I were already in town for the last month of summer when we saw that Mr. Durham needed a new maid."

"Maid?" Nathan all but laughed. Did these poor girls think that the job was just changing bed sheets and vacuuming the floors?

"Well, we know that there will be other jobs too, Mr. Durham told us we may have to change light bulbs and fix things that are broken, all that kind of stuff." Kirstie laughed. "And he said that Jess can help me so I get it all done faster."

"That's very interesting," Tim smiled sweetly as he looked between the two. Nathan had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at the pathetic flirting Tim was doing. "Nathan used to be the janitor person, like four years ago."

"Really?" Jess asked in interest. "Do you have any tips for us?"

"Um, not really. The old man's a softie, you can get away with just about anything," Nathan smirked as he remembered how lenient Whitey had been during that whole situation four years ago.

"You two aren't like, together, right?" Tim asked carefully and the two girl's eyes' bulged out.

"What? No no no no no. No." Kirstie laughed as Jess shook her head at the implication.

"Good, I was just asking. People who work together at that job tend to get together if you know what I mean," Tim shrugged with a smile.

"Huh?" Jess was thoroughly confused now. Whitey had told them the last two people who had lived in their condo were brother and sister not boyfriend and girlfriend…

"Tim's just a moron, don't listen to him," Nathan laughed. "But I think he was talking about how my wife and I worked together here and that's kind-of how we met."

"Your wife? You mean, you're married?" Kirstie said in a somewhat disappointed voice as Jess's face fell slightly.

"Yeah, I'm married," Nathan chuckled. He was used to getting surprised reactions like that from people since he was so young. Most guys his age hadn't even thought about marriage yet. "My wife and I live right above you two in condo 10."

"Oh, so you share a condo with Tim?" Jess asked and Nathan nodded.

Just then Haley came up with a smile on her face and Nathan quickly introduced the two new neighbors to her as he slipped his arm around her waist. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," she smiled at the two girls in front of her. She definitely liked them better than Nick and Nicki.

"Wow, Nathan told us that he was married but we didn't know you were pregnant too," Kirstie smiled as she looked down at Haley's large middle.

"Well, I am," Haley giggled as a radiant smile graced her face and she rubbed one of her hands across her stomach. "But only for about 2 and half more months."

"That's great, congratulations," Jess said sweetly.

"I'm sorry to cut out on you ladies, but Nathan and I have some business to take care of with Whitey," Haley smiled before grading Nathan's hand to signal that they were going to invite Whitey to dinner and they were going to do it now.

"Ok, it was nice meeting you both," Kirstie smiled before Tim cut in and started another conversation with them.

"Do we have to invite the old man?" Nathan groaned playfully. He knew he had no choice in the matter anymore, but it didn't hurt to try.

"Nathan, yes," she responded resolutely. "Besides, I should be mad at you right now for flirting with those new girls."

"What? I was not flirting with them!" he defended himself. "I told them I was married!"

At this Haley burst out into laughter. She had known he wasn't flirting, but it was funny to see him get all defensive. With her hormones acting all crazy for the past six months, he had gotten in the habit of defending almost all of his actions at any given moment so she didn't freak out about them. Nathan physically relaxed upon seeing her laugh. At least she didn't really think he had been flirting with those girls. "God, don't scare me like that. I thought you were going to have a meltdown."

"Hey, are you making fun of my meltdowns?" she asked suspiciously as she looked up at him.

"No, I think they're sexy, remember?" he chuckled as she started laughing again.

When they got to the door of Whitey's office, Haley knocked softly a few times before opening the door and letting herself in. Whitey was sleeping in his chair and Haley had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Nathan watched as she slowly made her way over to the sleeping man and tapped his shoulder causing him to wake up with a grunt.

"What in God's name are you two doing in here?! You scared the life out of me!" he accused. His displeasure at being woken up only grew upon seeing Nathan Scott smirking at him from the doorway. "Great, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, we wanted to say thank you," Haley smiled from beside him as Whitey turned to look at her. No doubt she was talking about the wine glasses.

"Oh, it was no big deal. What am I going to do with a couple of fancy cups anyway?" he chuckled. One thing that made Haley James Scott special in his eyes was her ability to be pleased by simple things such as receiving a couple of crummy old glasses.

"Yes it was a big deal, those glasses mean a lot to you," Haley said softly. She knew that him giving them up must have been harder than he let one because of their sentimental value.

"Of course they mean a lot, that's why I gave them to you two. I knew you'd take care of them." Whitey had decided to pass the glasses on to the Scotts because he really had no one else to give them to and he considered Nathan and Haley almost like his surrogate children. He had cared about both of them since he met them four years ago and in a way they were the closest to having children that he would ever get.

"Well, thank you," she responded sincerely. She knew that Whitey thought of her and Nathan as his kids and she thought of him as almost like a father as well. She also knew that although Nathan would never admit it, he looked up to Whitey more than to his own father. Four years ago Nathan had needed a stand in father like Whitey and he still did today, and Haley was grateful that someone as kind and caring as Whitey could fill that position for him. "We actually wanted to ask you something."

"Oh boy, you asking me something always seems to get me in trouble," Whitey laughed.

"Nathan, you ask him," Haley demanded as she looked over at Nathan who had been suspiciously silent since they arrived. He always had something to say to the older man and it worried her a little bit that he was acting so out of character and remaining silent.

"What? Oh um, Haley and I wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner with us?" Nathan asked hastily. He hadn't really been paying attention until he heard his name being said. He had been thinking about the Chavez's, they seemed to be the only people other than Haley and the baby that occupied his mind lately. He just couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't going to be caught any time soon.

"Yeah, we were thinking maybe next weekend," Haley added hopefully. She wanted to be able to repay Whitey for everything he had done for them and she thought that dinner would at least show him how much they appreciated his kindness.

"Well, my schedule is open," Whitey chuckled.

"Great, then it's a date," Haley smiled happily.


	32. Chapter 32

Hello everyone... I know you're probably mad at me right now for making this take so long...I'm sorry? I went on vacation last week and I tried to have this update finished before I left, but it didn't happen. Once again, I'm really sorry it took this long. I feel bad. :-( Thank you to the amazing people who reviewed, I adore you. I really appreciate everything you all say in your reviews, good and bad. Anyway, here's chapter 32...enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 32**

"Wait, so you were 20 minutes late to your own wedding and Camilla still married you?" Haley asked with a disbelieving giggle as she sipped at the ice water that the waitress had dropped off a little while ago. "I would have given up if I were her."

"You would have?" Nathan asked curiously. "Because I would have waited for you."

Haley looked at him before rolling her eyes lightly, "I think you're forgetting that I would never be late to my own wedding."

"She's got a point there, Scott. I don't remember her ever being late for work four years ago and I doubt her punctuality has changed," Whitey chuckled. He couldn't even imagine Haley being late for dinner, let alone her own wedding.

"Yeah, well, at least I wasn't late to my wedding unlike you," Nathan retorted. Whitey always managed to rile him up and Nathan had no idea why or how the old man did it.

"I was only late because my car caught on fire, weren't you listening?" Whitey asked sternly. Haley watched amusedly as her husband and the man she considered like a father exchanged heated looks. They had been here at the restaurant for about a half an hour now and the whole dinner had been this way. One moment the tone was light, and then the next the two men were engaged in some sort of unofficial staring contest. It was actually quite entertaining.

Although the two men often raised their voices slightly at one another, it was still obvious to her that neither of them really meant it in a hurtful way. Tempers fairing and voices rising was just what happened when these two were near each other. She glanced down at her glass of water and then back up at the other two to see that neither had flinched. Both were still staring directly at the other as if the first one to move was automatically wrong about whatever their little argument was about.

"So, Whitey, Nathan and I met the new maintenance girl, or girls I guess. They seem nice," Haley started in hopes of breaking up the silent argument going on in front of her. In the past half an hour there had already been three of these. Although entertaining, it was getting quite old. All she could do was hope that their food would arrive soon to keep them occupied.

"Oh yes, they're both simply delightful. One of them, Kirstie, is actually the daughter of my second cousin's brother in law." Whitey smiled sweetly over at her.

"Is that the one that plays guitar?" Nathan asked as he tried to remember which name went with which girl.

"No, that's Jess, her friend," Whitey corrected. "They happened to be up here for the summer and in need of money so I gave them the job."

"At least they're not psychos," Nathan mumbled before receiving a kick in the leg from his wife. "Haley, what the hell?" he whined as he reached down to rub his sore shin.

She gave him a look, knowing that he knew exactly why he had gotten kicked. It wasn't even a kick, more like a tap in her opinion. Before they came they had talked about not discussing Nick or Nicki unless Whitey brought it up. Haley didn't want to make him feel like anything that happened with those two was his fault.

"Um, did I miss something?" Whitey asked confusedly. He hadn't heard Nathan's words. _Probably didn't hear what I said because he needs a hearing aid_, Nathan smiled to himself.

"No, nothing at all," Haley smiled politely before looking pointedly at Nathan. "Right?"

"Yeah, nothing…" Nathan trailed off. He didn't want to make Whitey feel responsible for everything that happened with Nick and Nicki either, but someone had to be the scapegoat and Whitey was the best candidate. After all, he had been the one to hire Nick in the first place.

Just then the waitress returned carrying a large tray of food. After delivering each plate to the person who had ordered it she quickly disappeared, leaving the table of three sitting in silence once again. It was strange to Haley that dinner could be so uncomfortable at times, but at still enjoyable and relaxed. It was almost as if the uncomfortable silences were expected and therefore didn't really bring down their moods.

"So, how's school going?" Whitey asked sincerely as he stuffed a large bite of lobster into his mouth. He knew that both of them were going to be seniors in college next year, but he wasn't sure if the new addition to the family had caused them to change their plans in any way.

"Great, we're both going to be graduating in the spring," Haley beamed.

"What are your majors?" he inquired attentively.

"I'm majoring in education and Nathan's majoring in business," she responded with a happy smile. Although it was almost impossible for Nathan not to get drafted into the NBA, Haley was still grateful that he had gone ahead and pursued a degree in business just in case. She also couldn't deny how proud she was of him for working so hard to maintain acceptable grades despite all of the hours he had to put into basketball.

"Education? That's interesting," Whitey mused. "What made you decide to be a teacher?"

"Well, I tutored in high school and I absolutely loved it," Haley started. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure if teaching was something I wanted to do until we found out about the baby."

"How did that change your mind?" Whitey questioned. The way he saw it, an aspiration was an aspiration. If she didn't want to teach, she still had time to get out of it. He couldn't see how starting a family would convince her that she wanted to be a teacher.

"I don't know, I think it's something I've always wanted to do but just wasn't sure about until the baby… Nathan and I talked about it and I really think teaching is the best for me and our family. I mean, I'll get off work at around 3:00 so the baby won't have to stay in daycare for too long, plus I'll have summers off to spend with him and Nathan."

Nathan watched amusedly as his wife told the older man all of her thoughts about her future occupation and smirked as she started absentmindedly rubbing a soft hand across her stomach. He was going to miss seeing her like this. In his opinion, she had never looked sexier than now. Her being the mother of his child was like the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Part of him still couldn't believe that he was going to be a father. In about two months he was going to have a son of his very own. As he sat there staring at Haley, he couldn't help but wonder what their son would be like. Would he have eyes like Haley's, the ones that could get him to do anything? Would he be smart like her or have her laugh? One thing he knew for sure was that he was going to be putty in this little boy's hands simply because he was theirs.

"What about you Nathan? Why business?" Whitey asked looking over at him. Nathan pulled his eyes away from Haley, who was now giving him a weird look because of his staring, and turned his attention to the older man.

"Um, I guess I chose it because if basketball doesn't work out then I can always help my mom out at the dealership or with a business degree I can get some kind of office job," he shrugged. The only reason he had worked this hard so far to keep up with his grades and classes was because Haley wanted him to. He had never really been a fan of school, but it was important to her that he graduated so that's what he was going to do.

"I think it's really smart of you to do that," Whitey nodded in approval. He was proud of Nathan for realizing that basketball was something that could change in a second and going ahead and working hard for his degree. "It's good to have something to fall back on."

"Yeah, that's what Haley keeps telling me," he smiled as he looked back over at his wife.

"Well, Haley's a smart woman," Whitey chuckled.

"Yes I am," she smiled playfully before stuffing a bite of her Mac n' Cheese into her mouth. Nathan only shook his head as he watched. Of all of the things on the menu, she had chosen that. He knew it wasn't even all the pregnancy's fault. Even before she was pregnant she would often choose Mac n' Cheese over steak or ribs. "Nathan, tell him about that Damien guy."

"The one that was hitting on you?"

"Well, yeah, but I was talking about how he dropped out of school," she laughed softly.

"Ok, so here's what happened Whitey," Nathan started. "Damien was on my team when we were freshmen and then for about half of our sophomore year. One night I came out of the locker room after a game and saw him hanging all over Haley. I mean, he was practically raping her-"

"Nathan," Haley protested quickly, "he was not! He was just hitting on me." She loved that Nathan got jealous and protective of her like that, but he tended to exaggerate what happened in order to justify his actions. "And I wanted you to tell him about school, not Damien trying to feel me up."

"See? She admitted he was trying to feel her up," Nathan responded victoriously as he looked over at Whitey who was staring at them intently. "Anyway, I went over and beat the kid's ass and then he went crying to the coach."

"I think I remember this young man," Whitey mused. "Damien West, right? Doesn't he play for UNC now?"

"Yeah, he does. After that little incident, West and I were watched really closely by the dean and Coach K. It was similar to probation I guess. They didn't want two of their players fighting on or off the court. Eventually, they noticed that West wasn't going to class anymore so they asked him about it- Coach K is really big on having his players graduate, it's a really big deal to him. So anyway, Damien got annoyed with them making him feel bad about basically dropping out of college and transferred to UNC," Nathan summed up.

"Huh, I never would have guessed. That certainly is interesting," Whitey chuckled. "I would have done the same, as your coach I mean. Basketball is just a game, an education lasts a lifetime."

"I for one was glad he transferred," Haley added in. "He was annoying."

"You're telling me," Nathan muttered. "I don't think I've ever met such a cocky son of a bitch before." Haley and Whitey exchanged glances before both burst out into laughter. "What?"

"Babe, you used to be exactly like him," Haley giggled. She knew that now Nathan was nothing like Damien, but before they started going out, and even while they were going out at some points, he acted the exact same way.

"What? There is no way in hell I was ever anything like that idiot," Nathan defended himself.

"Oh, yes you were," she chuckled. "Now that I think about it, you're still as cocky as him."

"That doesn't count," Nathan dismissed. "I'm not annoyingly cocky like him."

"I think that depends on who you ask," Whitey said playfully.

With that, Nathan looked at Whitey and another one of their ridiculous staring contests started. It was actually more of a glaring contest than a staring contest. Haley sighed as she watched their antics. They were like two little boys, only saying things to get on the other's nerves.

"Nathan, I think James wants you to stop being mean to Whitey," Haley giggled a few seconds later.

"I'm not being mean to him," Nathan defended himself. "And how do you know he wants me to stop?"

"Who's James?" Whitey asked confusedly.

Nathan and Haley both turned to look at Whitey. "James is what we're naming the baby," Haley answered with a smile as Nathan started laughing. "And I know he wants Nathan to stop being mean to you because he's kicking my kidney right now."

Whitey's face then broke into a soft smile. "My father's name was James. That's a good name you've picked out for him."

"Nathan thought of it," Haley responded proudly, before looking at Nathan as if to tell him something. Whitey watched as the two exchanged some sort of knowing look and then Nathan nodded his head.

"Um, speaking of good names, we were hoping to make his middle name Brian," Nathan said in almost a questioning way. He and Haley had discussed it, and since her father's name was the baby's first name and neither of then wanted any part of Dan's name to be part of their son's, Whitey was next on the list. Whitey was silent for a moment, staring at Nathan and then Haley as his eyes slowly started to fill up with tears. "I mean, if that's ok with you."

"Are you kidding me? Of course it's ok with me," he replied happily as a large smile took over his face. "Thank you, both of you." A tear escaped from his eye then and Haley hurriedly got out of her seat to rush over and hug the old man, a few tears sliding down her cheeks as well. Nathan watched the scene with a small chuckle. He could see why Whitey might choke up after learning that their baby was going to have his name, but Haley? This was the work of her hormones.

"No, thank you," Haley whispered in his ear as she hugged him. "We would never be here if it wasn't for you."

"Oh I doubt that," Whitey chuckled as he swiped at his face to rid it of the salty tears. "But if you want to thank me for enslaving you four summers ago, I'm not going to stop you."

* * *

"Hey Nate, how'd the date with the old man go?" Tim asked from his usual seat on the couch. His two roommates had just walked through the front door and he was hoping that they brought him some leftovers. 

"It was good," he responded nonchalantly.

"Where's the wife?" Tim didn't even look over at Nathan to know that Haley wasn't with him. He was able to tell because she always said hi to him when she walked through the door.

"She's over at Lucas's. Brooke wanted her opinion on some shoes she just bought or something," Nathan shrugged as he sat down on the couch next to Tim. "Are you playing NBA Live?"

"Yeah…" he replied. Couldn't Nathan tell that he was playing NBA Live? It was pretty obvious.

"Well, I wasn't sure because you've been playing your little kid games like Finding Nemo all summer," Nathan defended himself as he grabbed the spare controller. "Start over so I can play."

Tim did what Nathan said and soon they were facing off in a digital basketball game. "So, that janitor girl, I think I might ask her out."

"Which one? The guitar one? Or the one that's related to Whitey?" Nathan asked as he furiously pressed buttons on his Playstation controller. There was no way he was going to lose to Tim.

"Which one's related to Whitey?" Tim questioned as his hands moves swiftly around the controller. It was apparent that he had more practice than Nathan.

"The one that doesn't play guitar," he answered annoyed. They both heard the front door open and then close again, but both knew it was Haley so they didn't pause the game.

"Oh, yeah, that's the one I want to ask out then. Well, they're both cool, but if the janitor one says no I can always ask out the guitar one," Tim shrugged.

"Tim, that's so typical," Haley chuckled as she walked into the living room area of the condo and sat down next to Nathan, her hand automatically coming to rest on her enlarged stomach. "And thanks for saying 'hi'."

"Hi," they both responded at the same time. "Damn it Tim! Stop making your player run over my best shooter!"

"Nathan, that's how the Timster plays the game. Deal with it," Tim said back hotly. Haley only shook her head as she watched. It was funny how intense their games got. "Nathan! That's cheating!"

"That's how I play the game, Tim. Deal with it," Nathan replied smugly as the game over sign flashed on the screen. He had just won by rotating the camera on screen to confuse Tim.

"Whatever," Tim retorted. "You didn't win fairly. Haley, tell him he's a sore loser."

"But I won. You're not a sore loser unless you lose," Nathan said back. "You're the one who's being a sore loser."

"I am not!" Tim defended himself. "You couldn't handle losing to me so you cheated!"

"I did not cheat!"

"Yes you did!"

Haley watched with a small smile on her face for a minute or two until she got bored with their 3rd grade argument. Seriously, every guy she was around today acted like they were in elementary school. If only Lucas were here to act like an adult. Unfortunately, he had to drive back up to school for the weekend because his class schedule got messed up somehow. "Tim, did Lucas call for me today?"

"No," he said shortly. "I did not eat that ice cream! You can't blame that on me!"

Somehow their fight had strayed in the last 30 seconds from the game of NBA Live and was now focused on the person who had eaten the last bit of ice cream the day before. Haley knew that it wasn't her and it wasn't Nathan. Therefore, Tim had eaten the last bowlful. "Well, did anyone call?" she asked, hoping to distract them from their little tiff.

"Yeah, some loser that hung up on me as soon as I said hello," Tim shrugged.

Haley wondered who it could have been. They didn't get telemarketing calls here and she was pretty sure that if someone was calling for her or Nathan they would have just left a message with Tim. Of course, there was a possibility that it was a wrong number, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something weird was going on. Someone had hung up on her both yesterday and the day before and it seemed to be an every day thing.

"Tim, just admit it was you!" Nathan demanded. Although Tim was his best friend, that didn't take away from the fact that he was infuriating. "It wasn't me, and it wasn't Haley. That means it was you."

"How do you know it wasn't Haley?" Tim questioned.

"Because, when we went to bed, there was ice cream and when we woke up there wasn't," Nathan explained. "Haley was with me all night, therefore it was you."

"Well, how do you know she didn't sneak out and eat it?" he demanded as he looked over at Haley who rolled her eyes. It was so obvious that Tim had been the one to eat the ice cream. He left the spoon on the sink instead of putting it in the dishwasher.

"Because I wake up when she's not next to me…Tim, just admit that you did it," Nathan sighed.

"But I didn't," he tried one last time.

"Oh my God," Haley groaned. Tim was never going to admit that he ate the ice cream and Nathan was never going to let it go. She was going to have to listen to this all night. Thankfully, the phone started ringing to provide a much needed distraction. She quickly sprang to pick it up. "Hello?" As soon as she said this, she heard the familiar sound of the dial tone. "Ugh! Whoever keeps doing this better stop before I lose my mind!" she exploded, causing both men to stop and stare at her. "I'm going to see Brooke and Peyton."

With that, she headed out the door, both men watching her curiously. "What's her problem?" Tim asked confusedly.

* * *

"Nick! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling there!" Nicki scolded her brother as she came out of the bathroom to see Nick slam down the phone. 

"Nicki, I'm just trying to see if they're home," Nick complained. "That way we'll know when to make our move."

"FYI Nick, we can't make a move yet. We don't even know where the damn necklace is." Nicki's eyes were on fire as she berated her brother. She was officially taking control of this operation because so far Nick had done nothing but screw it up.

It was his fault this whole thing started in the first place. Ever since she could remember, her father and grandfather had been pushing both of them to work hard to grow up and join the family business. This business wasn't a family restaurant or little bookstore, this business was made up of gambling and the only thing she had ever wanted to do was become a bookie like her father.

Of course, this had been Nick's dream as well, one that he severely botched when he couldn't pay one of his "clients" the 3 million dollars he owed him. That's when it all started. The man in need of payment went to their grandfather demanding the money and Nick had been put in charge of finding the necklace that the man mentioned to him in order to serve as payment…that was where Nicki came in.

Nick was never able to do anything on his own so he had asked his sister for her help. At the time, Nicki had been living with her Jake and her daughter, but she didn't mind leaving to help him out at first. She had only been staying with them so she didn't have to pay child support. After some research, they discovered that the necklace belonged to the man who owned a small condo complex by the beach. After also finding out that he had no safety deposit boxes, they concluded that the necklace was somewhere inside of the condo complex. Therefore, they moved in.

"Nicki, we're running out of time. There are only like 3 or 4 weeks left of summer and we have to find that necklace!"

"And we will, when the time is right," Nicki assured him. "Right now we need to lay low. We're not going anywhere remotely close to those condos until we know for a fact which condo it's in."

"But once we know, how can we tell when it's safe to go in?" Nick demanded. Most of the time Nicki was smarter than him, but sometimes he felt like she missed small details like that.

"Nick, it's not hard to hack into security systems…at least not for me. We can watch from the computer and see when it's safe to go in," Nicki groaned. It was as if her brother never learned anything from the family.

"Oh…so we're just going to watch the place until they all leave?"

"Yes. Or, at least until the guys leave. The pregnant one shouldn't be a problem," Nicki shrugged. "The stupid one probably won't be a problem either. So really all we're waiting for is for Nathan to leave."

"Ok, we can do that," Nick said with newfound assurance. They were going to find this necklace and then he would be well on his way to being back on his family's good side. All they had to do was wait.


	33. Chapter 33

Hello everyone, I'm here with the next chapter. First of all, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. You are awesome. I also want to dedicate this chapter to Shachar as a belated birthday gift. (In my defence, I had it ready yesterday, but the site wasn't working last night). Happy Birthday! This chapter is really a filler chapter, kind-of like the last few, but I promise the filler/fluff will not last too much longer. I think this story is only going to have another 5 chapters or so, so everything is going to start to wrap up. On that note, I hope you enjoy chapter 33. :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 33**

"Nathan, did you bring down that book?" Haley asked as she rummaged through the light green bag that was sitting next to her. She could have sworn that she put the book in here, but it was nowhere to be found.

"What book?" Nathan asked lazily from the towel beside her. The sun was extremely hot this morning and after laying out in it for only 15 minutes he already had a sheer layer of sweat forming on his bare chest. They only had a week left at the beach before they had to go back and get ready for school to start so Haley had insisted that they spend as much time by the ocean as possible.

"The one we bought on Thursday," she clarified as she continued to look through the beach bag. As she took things out to look and then put them back in, sand started to slowly appear on the bottom of the bag. "Great, now I have to wash the bag," she muttered.

"You mean the baby one?" Nathan asked in the lazy tone again. The sun was putting him to sleep and he really didn't have enough energy to sound excited about looking for that book that Haley had insisted on buying.

"Yeah, the one about child development. I thought I put it in here," she sighed in frustration. She wanted to finish that book before they went home and she had planned on starting it while she sat out here by the ocean. "I think I left it on the table."

"Let me guess, you want me to go get it?" Nathan smirked as he sat up and looked at her. That idea had crossed her mind, but now, after seeing her sweaty husband in front of her, she was content with just staring at him instead of reading that book.

"No, you can stay down here with me," she smiled before leaning over to leave a soft kiss on his lips. "But only if you go tell Tim to stop badgering that poor girl over there."

Nathan's head automatically turned to see what she was talking about and he outwardly groaned when he saw his friend. Tim was standing next to a group of three girls, all looking extremely uncomfortable. Nathan guessed that their pained smiles had something to do with the fact that Tim had draped his arms over two of their shoulders. _Idiot_. Nathan thought that Tim would know by now that girls really didn't like guys to do that if they'd only known each other for 5 minutes.

"Ok, I'll go talk to him." Haley smiled proudly before kissing his lips one more time. Over the course of the summer, she had started to see Tim as a child, one that she and Nathan had to discipline in order to keep in line. She knew he was a grown man, but his actions usually stated otherwise.

Nathan grumbled quietly to himself as he stood up from the beach towel and let his feet hit the hot sand. "Shit that's hot!"

Haley couldn't help but laugh as he quickly stepped onto the towel. "You might want to put some shoes on," she giggled.

"Yeah, thanks for the advice," he grumped as he slipped on one of his sand covered shoes. The one thing that he hated about the beach was the sand. It got everywhere and left nothing untouched. He was fairly certain that his shoes would have sand in them forever.

Haley shook her head with a small smile as he pounded the bottom of his gym shoe in hopes of getting most of the sand out. She had told him to wear sandals, but he had argued that sandals weren't a manly shoe. Plenty of men wore sandals; there was nothing wrong with them! Most women would probably be annoyed with his machismo, but surprisingly Haley found it cute most of the time.

"Ok, I'm going to knock some sense into Tim, then I'll run back and get that book if you want me to," Nathan offered as he stood up. His hot black shoes untied on his feet.

"No, you don't have to. Just go knock some sense into Tim, then come back here and keep me company." He smiled warmly before leaning down to leave a soft kiss on the top of her head and then made his way down the beach towards Tim.

"Hey Hales, what's up?" Peyton smiled as she approached Haley and sat down on the now vacant towel next to her. She had been on her way over here to talk to Nathan her, but Nathan had left all of a sudden, so it was just the girls.

Haley smiled and then pulled her sunglasses to the top of her head. "Well, if it isn't my long lost friend Peyton Sawyer. I though you got lost at sea or something since I haven't heard from you since last week when you went out on that boat with Jake and Jenny. Where have you been all this time?"

Peyton laughed apologetically. "Sorry I didn't call to check in, Mom. I was at Jake's."

"Really?" Haley's eyebrows shot up at the admission. "The whole week? Does that mean you guys are finally back together?" Peyton nodded and then laughed upon hearing Haley's squeal of delight. "Oh, I'm so happy for you. That's great. That's really great. So wait, when did you-?"

"Well, when we were on the boat, we kissed," Peyton smiled as Haley squealed again. It was obvious that Haley had been hanging out with Brooke this past week from her reaction to this news. "And then, you know, after that…I just didn't come home."

"I'm so happy for you both, Peyton. I really am. But I thought you were taking things slow?" Haley loved that her friend was happy again, but she really didn't want to see her get hurt because she rushed back into a relationship that still needed work.

"Well, we are taking things slow. Kind-of. Well, I guess it's not really slow anymore, but we both know that we still have a lot of talking to do. Neither of us really expect the relationship to magically be fixed, but we're working on it," she confirmed. She and Jake still had quite a few issues to overcome, but they were working on it and that was good enough for Peyton to feel like they were taking things slow. It's not like they were getting married or anything.

"What about when you go back to school? You do know that we have to go back in a week, don't you?" Haley asked softly. She didn't want to break Peyton's optimistic streak, but realistically she wasn't sure if Peyton was up for a long distance relationship so soon.

"We talked about it…I um, I'm actually thinking about transferring to a small college down here."

"What?!"

"Yeah," Peyton chuckled at her friend's stunned face. She had known that this decision would be a shock to everyone, but she had decided that if she really wanted this relationship to work, she needed to be closer to Jake and Jenny. "I wouldn't transfer until after first semester."

"Peyton, that's a huge decision to make. I thought you liked the school you're at?" Haley knew that Peyton had received a full ride scholarship before going to college, and she really wasn't sure if it was wise of her to throw that away just yet. Peyton didn't have the money to pay for school and her father really didn't either.

"I do, don't get me wrong, I love it. But I really feel like being with Jake is more important. I mean, you would switch schools for Nathan, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would, but we're married," she justified. Haley knew what it felt like to need to be near someone, but transferring schools was a huge decision, especially since the relationship was rather unstable at the moment.

"I know, but- I haven't made a final decision about that yet. I think we're just going to wait and see where we're at by Christmas time," Peyton sighed. She knew that transferring was a big deal and she had a lot of reservations about it, but if things worked out with Jake then it would all be worth it. At least she hoped it would. "Anyway, where's the husband? Did you finally ditch his sorry ass?"

"Very funny," she responded with mock laughter. "No, he's over there trying to get Tim to let go of those terrified girls," she shrugged as she pointed them out.

"Oh, I see. Yeah, the blond one really does look scared doesn't she?" Peyton laughed as Haley nodded.

"Tim, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nathan asked gruffly as he finally approached his friend. If he hadn't had to stop and talk to that damn lifeguard about tying his shoes he would have gotten there sooner and would have been much more even-tempered.

"Oh hey man, girls, this is my main dawg, Nate," Tim introduced. "Nate, this is Lindsey, Olivia, and Sally."

"It's Sarah," the blond corrected.

"Yeah that," Tim said dismissively as he turned to Nathan. "Excuse me for a minute, ladies. What up man?"

"Tim, can you please talk regular?" Nathan said in an annoyed voice as he glanced back over at Haley and saw that Peyton was sitting with her now. _Where the hell did she come from?_

"This is how I always talk home dawg," Tim defended himself.

"Yeah, ok," Nathan rolled his eyes. "Those girls, you're freaking them out."

"What? No I'm not. They love the Timster."

"Not when you say things like that," Nathan retorted. "I thought you were going to ask out that janitor girl, Kirstie I think was her name?"

"I am, but I haven't seen her for long enough to ask her out. So I thought I'd practice on these lovely ladies behind me," he smiled as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Tim, there are no girls behind you," Nathan deadpanned. If he was one of those girls, he would run away too. As Tim looked behind himself in confusion, Nathan stole another glance over at Haley and Peyton and saw none other than Chris Keller approaching them. _That moron had better pass without saying a word to either of them_.

"Nate, are you listening? Did you see why they left?" Tim said confusedly. They seemed to be having so much fun. Maybe they just wanted to go for a quick dip in the water.

"What? I don't know Tim. Maybe they left because you were hanging all over them and pawing at them like they were pieces of meat," Nathan said, the agitation clearly evident in his voice. "What the hell!"

"Huh?" Tim then followed Nathan's eyes and saw Chris had laid his towel down right next to Haley and Peyton's towels and knew that Nathan was obviously not happy about it. "Dude, ignore Chris for a minute. What did you just say about meat?"

"I said that you were creeping those girls out by being so forward you need to just- oh hell no!" Before Tim could say another word, Nathan took off down the beach towards his friend, his wife, and the jackass who dared to touch her stomach. Again.

"Nathan, you really need to control that temper. I hear it's a real turn-off!" Tim shouted after him.

"Stop it," Haley protested as she swatted Chris's hand away from her enlarged abdomen. "Chris, I mean it," she tried again when he narrowed his eyes at her and then tried to place his hand on her baby bump.

"Chris! You pervert! Go away!" Peyton chided. Both of them knew that Chris was harmless, but neither wanted to let him hang around long enough to start one of his incredibly lame lies about meeting famous people. "Don't you need to jet off to Hollywood or something?"

"No. My manager, Ashley, said I need to steer clear of Hollywood for a while. I think it's because I'm like blowing up or something. Yeah, I can just feel my career taking off," Chris boasted as the girls rolled their eyes. "And Haley, why can't I just feel the little tyke kick? Please?"

"No," Haley said firmly. The thought of Chris touching her was just a little weird and uncomfortable. The baby wasn't kicking anyway.

"Why not?" he whined as Peyton rolled her eyes once again. What a loser.

"Because I said so," Nathan barked. Chris literally jumped back upon hearing Nathan's harsh voice. It was obvious that he hadn't heard him come back.

"Oh, hey Nate, how's it going?" Chris said uneasily. He already knew that he was in trouble. This guy really didn't like other people touching things that belonged to him. _I wonder if he would kick my ass if I touched his beach towel? Hmm…it's worth a try. _

Nathan, Haley, and Peyton all watched confusedly as Chris gingerly reached over and touched his index finger to the blue and green towel and then looked curiously at Nathan. "What the hell is your problem? I swear, you are the weirdest person I've ever met."

"Wow, that hurt Nathan. I mean it, you really burned me with that one," Chris said sarcastically. So maybe the beach towel didn't spark his anger quite as much as his pregnant wife, but the guy still had possessiveness issues.

"I think I'm going to go up and let Brooke know I'm alive," Peyton interjected suddenly in hopes of relieving some of the tension in the air that seemed to follow Chris around. "Haley, do you want to come with me?"

"Um," she looked from Peyton, to Nathan, and then back to Peyton. She didn't want to stay near Chris and his annoying habits, but she wanted to stay at the beach. "I think I'll stay down here, but thanks anyway."

"Hey Blondie, I'll come with you. I haven't seen Brooke in forever!" Chris offered, only to be scowled at by Peyton. "Ok, I guess I'm not invited."

"You figured that out on your own? Good job, Chris!" Peyton cheered sarcastically before standing up, saying goodbye to Nathan and Haley, and then making her way towards the condos, glad to be able to enjoy a reprieve from Chris.

"And then there were three," he mumbled more to himself than anyone else.

"Actually, Nathan and I are going swimming," Haley corrected as she grabbed Nathan's hand and he instinctively helped her stand up, a simple task that got harder as her stomach grew.

"But, I didn't come down in my bathing suit," Chris protested.

"I know," Haley smiled before leading Nathan towards the cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Nathan only shrugged before following her. He loved how her mind worked; it was always able to come up with a peaceful way to avoid Chris and anyone else that she didn't want to be around. His impulse was always to either use his fist or use a lame excuse; hers was to find a polite way around the situation. He had been intrigued countless times by her ability to passively avoid someone or something without uttering a hateful word or using her fists. Although, seeing Haley hit Chris would actually be pretty hot…

As soon as their feet touched the semi wet sand, they took off their shoes and tossed them back to where their towels were laying and where Chris stood, now chatting away on his cell phone. "Do you think Chris will ever stop being an annoying asshole?" Nathan questioned as he purposely threw his shoe right in front of Chris and laughed when sand flew up in his face.

"Nathan!" Haley scolded. "Stop being mean, he's just different."

"Now you sound like my mother," he teased. Her face didn't soften so he quickly looked up at Chris and waved apologetically. Chris smiled and waved back, probably not even realizing that Nathan had thrown the shoe. "There, happy?"

"Yes," she smiled. "And in answer to your question, no, I don't think Chris will ever stop being annoying."

"Oh yeah?" he smiled as they continued walking towards the ocean, the cool and refreshing water washing smoothly over their feet. "What about the asshole part?"

"Nathan, language," she chided playfully as she grabbed his hand and brought it up to the side of her stomach where the baby was suddenly kicking. "He heard that. Now his first word is probably going to be asshole. Good job."

Nathan couldn't contain the laugh at her words. "No, his first word is definitely going to be 'dada', I can tell."

"And how can you tell?" Haley giggled as she stopped walking and turned to face him, her eyes locked on his.

"Because you're his mom, that means he'll be smart. Smart kids always say 'dada' first," he concluded as a broad smile took over her face. She quickly pushed herself up on her toes to capture his lips with her own and moved her hands to the side of his face. Nathan hadn't been expecting that, but he wasn't about to complain. He slipped his arms around her waist as her lips slowly teased his.

Haley couldn't think about the people around them that were starting to stare, nor did she want to. All that mattered was her lips on her husband's and the sensations they were creating. Nathan was caught a little off guard by her sudden kisses, especially since they were standing in the middle of the beach, but he quickly lost track of their surroundings as their lips moved together. She moaned a little into his mouth when he angled his mouth over hers and let his tongue easily slide into her mouth.

It took all of the self control he had not to let his hands roam over her tankini clad figure. If there weren't other people on beach, he would have been able to do all of things that he kept repressing in his mind. The last thing he wanted to do was lose control and rip her top off or something, not with all of the loser surfer guys that he knew would love it. Then he'd have to beat their asses for looking at her and she would get mad…He had to keep reminding himself of that as her mouth worked with his and their tongues battled for control.

Normally, Haley would have been embarrassed by what she was doing right now. She was all for PDA, the normal hand holding and polite kisses were perfectly fine, but she had never been the type to make out on a public beach. But now that it was happening, she couldn't and wouldn't stop it. She could always blame it on the hormones. After their passionate spur-of-the-moment kiss ended due to a need for air on both sides, Nathan smiled as he rested his forehead against hers. "Um, can I ask what I did that earned me that?"

"Nothing," she responded coyly. "I just felt like kissing you." Nathan smiled again as he leaned down to take her lips between his own once again. He couldn't keep this up for too much longer. His hands were beginning to twitch with the need to touch her soft skin and the creamy strip of it that was exposed by her tankini just wasn't enough.

Despite the mixture of the ocean breeze blowing through her hair and the cool waters that splashed over her feet, Haley was feeling uncontrollably hot. It had nothing to do with the heat index of 97 degrees and everything to do with her husband's slightly roaming hands and his hot wet mouth over hers. Suddenly, a large gush of water had them breaking apart because of the abrupt feeling of cold waters halfway up to their knees.

"Oh that's cold," Haley laughed breathlessly, Nathan's hands still on her hips. She blushed a little upon seeing his darkened blue eyes staring at her before another wave crashed down in front of them bringing the water up to their knees. "I thought we were only up to our ankles a few minutes ago," she giggled.

Nathan looked around to figure out why the water was getting higher all of a sudden. The wind seemed to be picking up so it was reasonable that the waves were too, and he also noticed that the tide was coming in. Then, he looked back towards the beach and realized that they were not in the ankle deep water, they must have been moving outward slightly the whole time they were kissing. Haley obviously realized it too because they both chuckled upon seeing how much farther out they were.

"We should probably go back towards the shore a little," he suggested, never taking his hands from her hips. They had both noticed that the bigger she got, the harder it was for her to keep her balance in the strong waves and currents.

She looked at him before nodding. Although she knew that however far out they were Nathan would never let her fall, it was still a little uncomfortable at times to feel like her feet were slipping out from under her and she couldn't do anything to stop it. In fact, it wasn't only uncomfortable, it was annoying. Plus, she never really liked going out too far anyway. There were far too many animals in the ocean for her liking.

"So, I saw the little show that you both put on out there," Chris smiled as he approached them. Both of them held back a groan at seeing him walking their way. Hadn't the purpose of going in the ocean been to get away from him? "It was hot."

"Shut up Keller," Nathan said coldly. They were now standing ankle deep in the salty water, but apparently that wasn't enough to keep Chris away.

"Whoa man, I was just stating the obvious. I'll bet that there were quite a few guys that wanted to-"

"We're going up to the condo now," Haley said decisively as she grabbed Nathan's hand and led him around Chris. Nathan glared at Chris as he followed his wife back over the hot sand to their towels. "Nathan, will you please try to ignore everything he says? We only have a week left here, so we only have a week more of putting up with him," she pleaded. She didn't like Chris practically following them around, but she also pitied him on some level. It seemed like he really didn't have any friends.

"Hales," Nathan groaned. "I can't just ignore him, didn't you hear what he was about to say? I have half a mind to go back over there and see if he has the guts to finish his sentence."

"Someone talking about me?"

"Chris! Stop following us!" Haley said loudly in an annoyed voice.

"Hey, Chris Keller isn't following you. He's just going back to his condo to get ready for the huge party he's going to tonight," Chris boasted before sprinting ahead of them onto the path that lead back to the condo complex.

"What an idiot," Nathan mumbled as he grabbed one of the towels and the beach bag. "I swear, that kid would never last at Duke. I'm not surprised he hasn't been to college yet."

Haley giggled before draping the other towel around her neck and then laying her head on Nathan's shoulder. Only a week left here. It was amazing that the summer went by so fast. She couldn't deny the fact that without the whole Nick and Nicki thing, the summer had been incredibly enjoyable. She loved spending time with her friends and getting to see Whitey again. Then another thought popped into her mind. Once the summer was over, they would only have a little over a month to wait before baby James would make his appearance. Just thinking about it had her stomach erupt into butterflies.

One more week, that's all that was left of this summer. Only a week…and she was sure that it was going to be a good one.

"Nick, cut it out," Nicki hissed from under the umbrella. She was wearing sunglasses and looking at a magazine in order to keep the young couple from noticing them as they passed. Nick however wasn't making it easy with his incessant babbling.

"What? I'm just excited. We are so close, Nicki!"

"I know, moron. No thanks to you, now shut up," she spat. "Just sit back and enjoy the sound of the ocean or something. All I ask is for you to stop trying to use your brain."

"God Nicki, you're such a bitch," Nick snapped. They had arrived back in town this morning, covertly of course, and had already hacked into the security system. Nicki had assured him that all they had to do now was wait, but he had never been a patient person. "Hey, when did you say we could go get the necklace?"

"Ugh, we've gone over this fifty times, dumbass. We can go get the necklace as soon as the condo is empty. Or at least empty of Nathan Scott and preferably of Tim Smith."

"Well, then why weren't we looking for it right now?" Nick asked, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Because, it's not time," Nicki responded simply. "Trust me. I'll tell you when it's time, and now is not it."

"But when will it be time?" Nick ground out impatiently. His way was so much better.

"Some time in the next week!" Nicki almost yelled. "Now stop asking me dumb questions and look over those construction orders again, maybe there's something we missed."

"The next week? Ok, I can live with that," Nick shrugged. Before the week was over, he was going to have that necklace in his possession and his coveted place in the family business back. Yes, this was going to be a very good week.


	34. Chapter 34

Hello everyone. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. :-) Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and all of the chapters, I love you all. I'm sorry for the wait, I wanted to have this done a couple of days ago...but I procrastinated on my summer reading so I had to work on that. :-( But, to make it up to you, I made this chapter a little longer than usual. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 34**

"No, you're doing it wrong," Brooke pointed out with a laugh as she watched her boyfriend try and paint her toenails, "you have to go back to front."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lucas questioned with a smile. "I'm only doing this so you'll come to that movie with me tonight, so you had better not get picky. I can forgo the movie."

"Broody, it's not hard. I'm just asking that you paint from cuticle to the edge. I don't want streaks," she huffed playfully. She knew that Lucas was only doing this to get her to go, she hadn't told him that she would go with or without her nails done. The way she saw it, if she had to sit through that terrible excuse for a horror movie, then at least she could get something out of it.

"What movie are you guys seeing?" Haley questioned from the couch, not looking up from the laptop she was on.

"That dumb Lindsay Lohan one. Lucas is only making me see it since she's like a hooker in it or something," Brooke complained as Haley laughed. "And are you still working out your class schedule? I thought that was supposed to be finished, like, a long time ago?"

"Yes, it was supposed to be finished a long time ago. School starts in a week and I am waiting to see if anyone drops out of the class I want to take," she explained, still looking at the computer. It was already Wednesday, the middle of their last week here at the beach. It was going to be so weird to leave this place again. It had become her home all over again, much like it had four years ago.

"What class is it?" Lucas questioned before steadily applying the ruby red polish to Brooke's flawless toenail.

"Lucas! Pay attention to what you're doing. I don't want to look down as see that you painted half of my foot red by accident," Brooke scolded. Maybe having Lucas paint her toenails wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Brooke, do you think I've never painted a woman's toenails before? I did live with my mother for 18 years," Lucas chuckled. "So Haley, what class?"

"Oh it's nothing, it's similar to a home economics class I guess," she shrugged. "I just want to learn how to cook and sew and stuff like that. I guess part of it's the hormones."

"I want to take a class like that too!" Brooke suddenly yelled.

"You do?" both Lucas and Haley questioned simultaneously. Brooke had been raised to overindulge and had constantly had servants or maids around to do everything for her. Neither of them would ever have guessed that she would want to do things such as cooking and cleaning on her own.

"Yeah, I mean, my mom didn't know how to cook, or clean, or drive, but that doesn't mean that I have to be like her. I already know how to drive, but I still need to learn to cook and clean and sew and -"

"Brooke, where is all of this coming from?" Lucas chuckled. He had never heard her mention anything about wanting to be more self-sufficient like that. Ever. Since she never said anything, he had always assumed that she liked living the rich life and having others wait on her hand and foot.

"What? I've always wanted to learn to cook. The only things I know how to make are break-and-bake cookies and microwave popcorn. Don't even try to tell me that that isn't sad," Brooke smiled. She was well aware of the fact that she knew very little about how to live on her own. Part of her was surprised that she even made it through the last three years of college without a butler or something. But she wanted to change that. When she was older and married, she wanted to be able to make dinner for her husband and kids and be able to make her own bed in the morning. She just wanted to live without hired help.

"Brooke, that's not sad," Haley said encouragingly. "You've never had anyone to really teach you how to do that stuff. There's no way anyone would expect you to know how to cook and clean with your background."

"That's just it. That's why I want to learn. I don't want to be another spoiled rich girl. I want to be like you, and like your mom, Lucas. I hate everyone assuming that I can't do anything on my own," Brooke sighed.

Lucas and Haley looked at each other curiously. "Brooke, don't take this the wrong way, but why is this a big issue for you all of a sudden?" he prodded gently. One thing he knew about Brooke was that if you make her mad, she gets _really_ mad.

"It's not all of a sudden, I've felt this way for a long time," Brooke said dismissively before looking down at her toes. "You missed a spot."

"Ok, well, if you've felt this way for a long time, why are you just now telling us?" Haley asked lightly. The three of them had been best friends since grade school and she had never once heard Brooke express any of these feelings.

"I don't know. I mean, maybe it has something to do with what Chris said at the party the other night…"

Lucas and Haley both looked at each other worriedly again. Lucas had no idea what she was talking about and Haley wasn't there so she couldn't possibly know either. Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim had all gone to the same party as Chris on Saturday while Nathan and Haley had opted to stay home and spend some alone time together. When the group had arrived home from the party, they all seemed to have had a good time. Tim had even gotten Kirstie the maintenance girl to agree to go out to dinner with him. "What did he say?" Haley questioned.

"It was nothing, just, he said something about how he could carry my plate for me if it was too heavy."

"Chris Keller said that?" Haley asked with confusion. "Was it one of his lame pick up lines?"

"No, because then five minutes later some other guy offered to get me a champagne and then started laughing. I think it was because I was wearing my Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses with my Gucci shoes and designer jeans," Brooke said with a trace of a pout forming on her face. Lucas immediately started to chuckle while Haley bit her tongue. "What's so funny?"

"Brooke, I really doubt that Chris or that other guy were trying to insult you or imply that you can't carry your own food or drinks," Lucas pointed out as he blew on her toenails to help them dry faster.

"Well, you weren't there, you don't know," Brooke replied in an annoyed tone. "Even if they didn't mean it that way, it doesn't change the fact that I want to learn to cook. I mean, what happens when I have kids and I don't know how to make them lunch?"

Haley noticed that Brooke was being very careful with picking her words. It was no secret that Brooke thought she would ultimately get married to Lucas and have children with him, but Haley assumed that right now she was probably trying to steer clear of the subject given Lucas's discomfort with it.

"Brooke, I completely understand what you're saying," Haley sympathized. "I feel the same way. I mean, I can cook a little bit, but nowhere near as well as my mom. That's why I want to take this class if some of these people would just drop it," she said, her voice turning a little agitated as she looked back at the screen. How many people could possibly want to take that class? "I just want Ja- the baby to grow up in a house like I did I guess."

Brooke nodded in agreement. "I want my kids to grow up in a house like you did, too. Don't you want that, Lucas?"

For a moment, Lucas didn't say anything; he was still focused on what Haley had said. "Hey Hales, you said you already know the baby's name, right?"

"Um, yeah…" she laughed. "Where did that come from?" She really hoped that her almost slip of the tongue hadn't given anything away. His name was supposed to be a secret.

"What are the chances that his name starts with a 'J'?" Lucas questioned with a smirk, laughing as Haley's eyes grew slightly larger.

She couldn't lie to her best friends and tell them that his name started with a different letter, the only choice was to confirm it and hope that they didn't guess right. "Maybe…but you can't tell Nathan! It's supposed to be a secret," she pleaded.

"Relax, I won't tell him," Lucas laughed.

"Good, it's not like it's my fault that I almost slipped up. Brooke made me start talking about kids and stuff-"

"Jack? Jason? Jeremy? Joshua? John? J-"

"Brooke! Stop guessing!" Haley scolded. "I'm not telling you! It's a surprise."

"Well fine, be that way," Brooke responded in mock hurt. "Where is the father anyway? All you said when you came over here was that you needed quiet."

"Oh, he's at home playing NBA Live with Tim," Haley shrugged. "I swear they've been glued to the TV for the past three days with all of this rain. We've hardly left the condo at all."

"I know what you mean. Broody and I were looking forward to spending our last week out on the beach, and now it's Wednesday and it hasn't stopped raining. Maybe there's a hurricane!"

"Brooke, there's no hurricane," Lucas assured her with a laugh. "I think we would have known by now. And that lady on the news said it was supposed to clear up tomorrow."

"I hope. I need to even out my tan before we go back to school, I don't want it to look lopsided or anything," Brooke smiled before inspecting her toenails. "Nice job Broody, these aren't even half bad."

"Yeah, I have a lot of secret talents," Lucas nodded playfully.

"Really? Care to show me some of the others?" she asked suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows up and down a few times for effect.

"Ok, I think that's my signal to leave," Haley laughed as she closed the laptop. The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near them when they did what she thought they were going to do.

* * *

_Where is it? I know we have some! _Haley thought in frustration as she searched the freezer for the object of her desire. After removing the frozen waffles and looking behind the box, she realized that her frozen lemonade was not there. _So someone ate it. Now the question is who?_

She sighed as she closed the freezer door. She would probably never be able to prove who ate it, Tim or Nathan, and even if she could it wouldn't change the fact that she was craving frozen lemonade and they had none here. _Maybe I can run up to the store and get some,_ she thought hopefully before glancing at the couch. Neither Tim nor Nathan had moved from that couch in the last 3 hours. She really doubted that Nathan would feel like getting up to go to the store with her.

She then looked over to the table where his wallet sat comfortably next to the car keys. _Maybe I could go by myself…_as soon as the thought entered her head it was squashed by her knowledge that Nathan would never let her go by herself. He hated it when she drove now since she was almost too big to fit comfortably behind the wheel and he really hated it when she drove pregnant and in the rain. No, he would never let her go. _Stupid protective Nathan who ate all of my frozen lemonade_.

"What's wrong with her?" Tim asked after hearing the bedroom door shut loudly.

"I don't know," Nathan answered confusedly before hastily pausing the game. "Hold on."

"Aw, Nathan! Did you have to pause it? I was on a role!" Tim complained as Nathan lifted himself up off the couch and threw the controller onto the now vacant couch cushion.

"I'll be right back," Nathan assured him as he approached the bedroom door. Something told him that when he opened it he was in for a verbal beating. He had no idea what Haley was pissed about, but he was sure she was pissed about something. "Hales?" he called softly as he tapped at the door and then slowly reached down to turn the doorknob. When he opened the door, he saw Haley standing in front of the dresser looking into the mirror as she pulled her hair up into a perfect ponytail. "Haley, what's wrong?"

"Did you eat my frozen lemonade?" she questioned bluntly, never taking her eyes from her reflection in the mirror as she wrapped the dark brown piece of elastic around her hair.

"Um…" He thought back to the night before when she had been asleep on the couch. He was watching some movie on TV as he rubbed her feet so he had asked Tim to bring him some ice cream. _I thought that ice cream tasted weird._ "I think I might have, sorry."

"It's ok," she sighed in a voice that would hardly be considered forgiving.

"Is there something else I can get you?" he asked as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He couldn't help but feel bad about eating her frozen lemonade. Of course, he hadn't known it was hers, or even that it was frozen lemonade. He had thought it was some kind of weird lemonade flavored ice cream thanks to Tim.

"No, I'm fine," she responded, slightly calmed by the feel of his arms around her. "I was just feeling a little hot so I thought I'd eat my frozen lemonade…I can try to find something else I guess, it's no big deal."

"I would go and get you some more, but-"

"You will? Thank you so much! You're the best husband ever!" she cheered as she turned around in his arms and left a kiss on the side of his jaw.

"Wait, Haley, I-" How was he supposed to not go now, after she had just gotten so excited about getting her frozen lemonade? He couldn't just not go get her some, especially since he had eaten it in the first place. Usually he loved her pregnancy cravings and would be happy to go get whatever she wanted, but not tonight. "You have to come with me."

"What? Why?" she giggled before taking a hand to rest on her lower back and sucking in a deep breath.

"What is it? Are you ok?" Nathan asked concernedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled as she looked back up at him. "He's just been kicking weird. I don't know, it's like he's kicking my spinal chord or something." Nathan's brow furrowed in confusion and concern. Was that even possible? "I think him kicking now is his way of saying he wants to stay home."

"But Hales, Lucas and Brooke are at their movie," Nathan argued.

"So?"

"And Tim's leaving for his date in a couple of minutes."

"I don't get it," she laughed.

"You can't stay here by yourself," Nathan clarified as if it was obvious.

"Oh, and why not?" she countered. Sometimes he was just a little bit too protective.

"You know why, Haley," Nathan said seriously. "I'm just not comfortable with leaving you here alone with Nick and Nicki-" he suddenly stopped himself. He had forgotten to tell her that they were never arrested. Ever since they got back, their summer had been nothing but peaceful and quiet and the two psycho neighbors really hadn't entered his mind all that much until recently. Summer was just about over and he couldn't help but have a feeling that Nick and Nicki were going to come back. Maybe it was his pessimistic side that thought that, but he thought it nonetheless.

"What about Nick and Nicki? They're gone now, they're in jail. Right?" His silence after the question only made her realize that no one had ever told her that Nick and Nicki had been caught and that realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Whoa, sit down," Nathan commanded as he reached out to take her hand when he saw her eyes grow wide and her face clearly display the shock and fear that she felt.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked accusingly as soon as she was seated on the bed and Nathan sat down next to her.

"I was going to, but then I forgot."

"You forgot?" she asked incredulously. "I highly doubt that. Why didn't you tell me from the very beginning? Did you think I wouldn't want to know that our crazy condo bashing neighbors are on the loose?"

"No, I just, I didn't want to worry you," he explained, realizing that now he was going to get it.

"You don't get to do that," she said solemnly. "You can't just pick which pieces of bad news to tell or not tell me. I'm your wife! You're supposed to tell me everything. I don't want you to keep things, especially things like this, away from me!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I just-"

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long have you known that they're still out there somewhere?"

"Since the night we went back home," Nathan admitted, trying desperately not to look at her face which surely held disappointment and hurt. Two things he never wanted to see there. "I was going to tell you, I swear, I just wanted to give the police a little more time before I worried you with it. Then after a while, I just forgot that I hadn't told you. I'm sorry, I know you-"

"How can you _forget_ to tell me something like this?" Haley asked softly. She wasn't really mad at him, he had kept it from her for her own good, but she was disappointed. Disappointed that he didn't trust her not to freak out and disappointed that she hadn't realized that they were still out there from the beginning.

"I don't know, after a while it just slipped my mind," he said apologetically, his voice dripping with the guilt he felt. Part of him knew that he didn't need to feel guilty about not telling her, it was for her own good, but he still felt it every time he looked at her face. _I should have told her, I know how mad she gets when I keep things from her_.

"It's ok."

"What?"

"It's ok that you didn't tell me, I understand why you didn't," Haley assured him softly. Although she didn't agree with his decision to keep it from her, she knew that she had been in a pretty fragile state for the first couple of nights after the incident with the vandalism. She couldn't blame him for not wanting to make it worse.

"Hales, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. You can be mad at me if you want, I mean, feel free to yell at me," he said.

Haley only smiled before shaking her head. "No, I want frozen lemonade too much to yell at you."

"You still want frozen lemonade? After just finding out that Nick and Nicki are out there somewhere?" Nathan asked, slightly surprised that she was being dismissive about the situation all of a sudden.

"Yeah, cravings don't go away as quickly as you might like," she joked. "And about the Chavez's, I don't care if they're still out there as long as they stay away from here. In three days we're going home and then we won't have to worry about them anymore."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"I'm not mad, just a little disappointed that you didn't tell me in the first place," she admitted softly. "Nathan, I have to be able to trust you to tell me things, and you have to earn that trust."

"Are you saying you don't trust me?" he asked with a small smile, knowing that wasn't what she meant to say.

"No, I'm saying that every time you don't tell me something like this I doubt my trust in you a little bit," she explained in a small voice. "Nathan, I don't want to doubt you, please stop making me."

"I will, I promise," he responded as he looked into her warm chocolate brown eyes hoping she could see the sincerity behind his. "And I know I've said that before, but-"

Before he could finish, Haley's lips were on his in a short but sweet kiss. "I believe you," she smiled. "Now, about that frozen lemonade…"

"Get your shoes on so we can go," Nathan laughed. He should have known that she wouldn't give up on that.

"But, I'm not going," Haley countered. "Nathan, you'll be gone for ten minutes. Tim can wait with me until you get home if you're really that worried about it." Normally she would have just gone with him, but James's weird kicking was getting on her nerves and she wasn't sure it would be good for her to scold her stomach in the middle of a grocery store. "We'll be fine here."

"You really want that frozen lemonade, don't you?" he chuckled.

"No I don't, but your son does," Haley giggled before rubbing her hand over her large stomach affectionately.

"Fine, I'll go get it, but let me just make sure Tim will stay here until I get back," he caved before kissing the top of her head and then heading back into the living room.

* * *

There was no way he was going to find it. He'd been searching for the damn frozen lemonade in the grocery store for close to 20 minutes. He was just going to have to call Haley and get her something else. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, easily dialing the number to their condo.

"Hello?" she answered after just one ring.

"Haley?"

"Nathan, where are you? What's taking you so long?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. "You've been gone for almost a half an hour."

"I know, I went to the little grocery store down the street and they didn't have any so I went to the big one. Now I can't find it. Can I get you something else?" Nathan questioned, exasperated by his long search.

"Well, did you ask someone?" Haley giggled. She already knew that the answer was no.

"I um, no, but I mean, I've looked everywhere," Nathan defended himself. "They don't have any."

"Nathan, I bought the first one there, they have to have it. Go ask someone to help you find it," she commanded.

"Haley," Nathan whined.

"Look around, is there an employee in your isle that you can ask?" Haley asked sweetly.

Nathan did a quick sweep through the isle and his eyes landed on a young woman who was on her knees stocking ice cream in the freezer, shivering every minute or two from the cold. "Shit."

"What?"

"Haley, I can't ask her."

"Why not?"

"Because she's…that's the one employee that grabbed my arm that one time I went to the grocery for you. The one I told you about, remember? The one that was dragging me around the whole store trying to sell me things," Nathan whispered into his phone.

"Nathan, suck it up. If you want, I'll talk to her for you. Just give her the phone."

Nathan sighed before walking up to the blond haired woman. "Um, excuse me, I was wondering if you can help me find something," he started, reading the nametag on the woman's red vest. Carol. _Yep, it's the same girl_.

"Oh, no problem handsome. What is it I can help you with?" she beamed, obviously grateful for a distraction from her cold job.

"Um, here, talk to my _wife_," Nathan said quickly before shoving the phone towards her, making sure to emphasize the word wife.

Carol shrugged and then smiled before taking the phone and holding it up to her ear. "Hello Ma'am. I think your husband needs help finding something but won't tell me what it is."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Haley laughed. "He needs help finding the frozen lemonade."

"Oh, I know exactly where that is," Carol responded. "Did you want pink lemonade or yellow lemonade?" she asked as she turned around and walked down the aisle, motioning for Nathan to follow.

"It doesn't matter," Haley smiled. See, that wasn't hard. All he had to do was ask…

"Here you go sir, take your pick," Carol smiled politely, before handing the phone back to him.

"Thanks," he mumbled before looking through the glass door of the freezer. "Hales?"

"Yeah?"

"Ok, the only reason I didn't see them was because they are on the very bottom shelf. I mean, only the little kids would see something that low to the ground," he explained as he opened the door and grabbed two of the one pint containers.

"I saw it down there," Haley smiled as she switched the phone to the other ear so it could fit more comfortably between her shoulder and her ear. "Hold on, someone's at the door."

"Is it Tim's date?" Nathan asked as he approached the check out line.

"No, Tim left about 10 minutes ago. He said that his dinner reservations couldn't wait any longer," she giggled as she set down the book she had been reading and walked towards the door.

"So you're there alone? Haley, don't answer the door," he commanded.

"Nathan, I'm not just going to ignore whoever is on the other side-" With that she opened the door and immediately fell silent.

"Who is it?" Nathan asked. "Haley?"

She didn't say anything to him, but he heard her terrified voice manage to put together one sentence. "Nick, Nicki, um, what are you doing here?"


	35. Chapter 35

Hello everyone...it's been a while. :( I'm soooo sorry for the wait, school started up this past week and I had barely any free time. Note to self: don't wait until the last 3 days of summer to do all of your summer reading. lol. Thank you so very much to all of the lovely people who reviewed for the last chapter. They help me make time to write. :) Keep it up! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 35**

"Nick, Nicki, um, what are you doing here?"

As soon as Nathan heard her say that one small sentence he felt the blood drain from his face and froze in panic. Surely he had heard her wrong. There was no way she had just said that because there was no way that Nick and Nicki were there…with her. "Haley? Haley?" he asked frantically into the phone, praying for her to answer him with a laugh and say she had only been joking.

There was a loud crash on the other side of the phone before the connection was lost. "Shit!" Nathan yelled before dropping the frozen lemonade in the check out line and then hastily trying to make it around the large woman that was blocking his path to the door.

"Sir…excuse me sir, you can't use language like that in here and you can't just leave your things on the conveyor belt either," a middle aged man with balding hair and glasses spoke out from next to the cash register. "If you're in a hurry, might I suggest the express lane-"

"No, I don't want to buy the damn lemonade anymore. I need to get out of here," Nathan barked. His mind was running in too many different directions to be able to speak rationally. Getting tired of trying to go around the seriously overweight woman in front of him, he turned around and ran out an open isle.

"Whoa hot shot, why are you in such a hurry?" a male voice called as he grabbed on to Nathan's arm, causing him to stop just a few feet in front of the automatic glass sliding doors.

Nathan whirled around to see who dared to stop him only to see the bright and smiling face of Chris Keller. "What the hell, Keller! Let me go!" Nathan shouted.

"Hold on, Buddy. Where's the fire?" Chris laughed. He had just arrived to pick up some more spinach, Ashley had told him he needed to bulk up if he wanted to make it big, so he had taken to shoving down spinach like Popeye. If that didn't work, he had always assumed that he could always have some kind of muscle toning surgery.

"Haley…I…Nick…," Nathan was now completely incapable of forming a coherent sentence. "Get off of me!"

"Nate, you really need to calm down. I don't know what you're saying," Chris said calmly. "I had a problem with repeating words when I talked when I was younger, and my mom always told me to focus really hard on what I was trying to say. Try that, think about what you're trying to say," he encouraged.

If Nathan had been thinking clearly, Chris would already be laid out on the floor and he would be halfway out the door, but at the moment his brain wasn't working normally. "He…they…oh God. Get the hell off of me!"

"Take a few deep breaths man," Chris said patiently, trying to calm the man that his hand currently clung to. "All I caught was something about Haley and Nick…is she having an affair with him? I always knew that guy was bad news-"

"Let go of me!"

"Not until you tell me what-" Before he could finish, Nathan finally cleared his thoughts enough to punch Chris squarely in the face. "Security!" Chris called from the floor holding his nose as Nathan ran for the door. "I think he's trying to steal something!"

As soon as Nathan reached the door, he was tackled by two uniformed guards as Chris smiled triumphantly from the floor. _No one hits the Keller and gets away with it_.

* * *

As soon as she opened the door and saw the heavy duty combat boots on the ground in front of her, she knew. There was no need to look up and see the woman whose feet wore them nor did she have to look up to know that her brother was with her. A wave of terror plunged over her like a bucket of ice cold water and she stood paralyzed in shock and fear. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind in that one moment, the most reoccurring of them all telling her that she had to get out of there.

Then she remembered the phone still held in her hand. _Nathan_. She had to warn him or let him know somehow of the situation so he could call the police. At least that way the cops showing up would catch Nick and Nicki off guard. She decided that the best thing to do for her own safety and the safety of her baby was to pretend like she had no idea that the two people in front of her were dangerous.

"Nick, Nicki, um, what are you doing here?" Her voice came out more weak and trembling than she would have hoped, but at least she had said it loud enough. She was sure that Nathan had heard and she had no doubt that he was now freaking out. If only she had listened to him in the first place and gone with him. Then, as if to remind her why she didn't, the small pain in the small of her back resurfaced and then disappeared.

It had gotten strangely worse since Nathan left, it felt sharper and less like some kind of weird kick, now it felt more like a small needle pricking into her back and then being taken out again.

Nicki stared at the fear in the large brown eyes of the woman in front of her. Perfect. As long as she was scared she would do exactly what they told her. They always did. Then her gaze shifted to Haley's round stomach. Yes, this was going to be a piece of cake.

Haley noticed the cold and unreadable eyes of the young woman on her stomach and instantly felt even more uncomfortable and nervous. _Surely they won't do anything to hurt him_, she thought, _they just want the necklace_. When Nicki looked back at Nick and then to her stomach again, Haley instinctively put her free hand protectively over it. _It's ok James, I won't let them hurt you_, she said silently to the tiny boy inside of her.

"Haley? Haley?" The voice on the phone brought all of them out of their silence and Nick quickly reached forward, grabbing the phone as if it were the first time he had noticed it. Before Haley could say anything to object, Nick hurled the phone across the room, shattering it into pieces.

"So Haley, it looks like it's just us," Nick smiled, showing his yellow tobacco stained teeth. "Now, as long as you don't cause any trouble, we won't hurt you."

"I'm sure you know by now what it is we want," Nicki cut in. "Do you happen to know where the necklace is?" Nicki's tone could almost be mistaken as friendly, but Haley was well aware that the sugary tone would only last until she lied and said she didn't know where the necklace was.

"I, um, I don't know," she lied before glancing over at the door that lead to Tim's bedroom. No matter what she said they were still going to look for the necklace, so she figured she might as well give them a wrong lead.

Nick waved his head towards the door as if to tell Nicki to go search Tim's room while he waited with Haley. "No, you go look," Nicki said sternly. "You shouldn't be near her."

"Nicki!" Nick spat angrily before pulling her off to the side. "What? God, Do you think I'm going to rape the girl? I'm just going to wait out here with her while you check in the room."

"And I'm telling you, no," Nicki responded through gritted teeth. "We're not going to hurt her unless it becomes necessary. I can't trust you to leave her alone, so you're going to search the bedroom."

"No, I'm staying out here you whore. Now go in and search the bedroom before I blow your brains out!" Nick snapped. His outburst surprised both Nicki and Haley who both stood shocked. Nicki only rolled her eyes before going into the bedroom and leaving the door opened while Haley sunk down in one of the kitchen chairs needing to get off her feet for the moment.

She sat with her face to the ground as she tried to control the shaking all over her body. So Nick had a gun. What else could he mean by 'blow your brains out' and if he didn't really have one, why would Nicki do what he said? She felt like crying because her situation seemed hopeless at this point. She had seen instances like this on movies, whether they found the necklace or not, they would kill her so she couldn't ID them. _No they won't. Not if I find some way out of this_, she encouraged herself.

_Maybe I can create some kind of distraction and escape?_ She glanced over at the now closed and locked front door and then at the window. There was no way she could make it down the steps faster than Nick or even Nicki for that matter and there was also no safe way to go out the window. She was sure that she could make it down to the balcony below, but then she realized that Nick and Nicki's old condo was the one right below them. There was no doubt in her mind that they still had a key for the place.

_I could try to jump from the second floor balcony_, as soon as the thought entered her mind, she dismissed it. She couldn't jump from a second story balcony without putting the baby in danger. In fact, she couldn't even get out the window without putting him in danger. The window was out of the question, so that left the door. Before she had time to ponder a possible distraction to provide time for her to get out the door, Nick interrupted her thoughts.

"So where's the husband?" he snickered as he pulled up a chair next to Haley. She didn't answer but instead kept her eyes locked on the floor and her hands clamped tightly together. "Answer me damn it! I already told you I won't hurt you if you do what I say!"

Haley flinched at his words and Nicki popped her head out of the bedroom door to see what was going on. "Why can't you let me go?" Haley whispered. "I mean, you don't need me for anything and I promise I won't tell anyone that you're here-"

"Shut up!" he snapped. "You're staying right where you are until we find the necklace!" A tear escaped from Haley's eye and she quickly reached up to wipe it away. She didn't want to be intimidated by the man next to her, but it was in her nature. Ever since she was little and her uncle abused her, she had come to associate yelling with hitting. Nick's sharp voice and bad temper made her feel the same things that she had felt when she was 10; fear, anger, hurt, and expectation of pain. "Nicki, did you find anything yet?"

"Nick, the room is a pig sty and it's only been 2 minutes. Why the hell would you think I had already found it?" Nicki yelled bitterly. They had gone over this plan many times. He wasn't supposed to talk to Haley, touch Haley, or even look at Haley. She was too much of a temptation for him.

Ever since they were younger, Nick had been fascinated with making the lives of others miserable. Nicki remembered one time in preschool Nick had thrown sand in a little girl's eyes just to see her cry. She wasn't like that at all. She preferred to focus on the task at hand and leave every person around her out of it. Of course, if someone posed a problem or threat to her job then she had no reservations about getting them out of the way, but she didn't like to involve innocent bystanders. It always got messy when you did.

"Shut up Nicki," Nick mumbled before turning to Haley again. "Would you stop with the shaking or whatever you're doing? It's not like I'm going to cut your fingers off or something…but that would actually be kind of cool," he mused.

Haley looked up at him with wide disgusted eyes, was he serious? "Cutting off someone's fingers is not 'cool'! It's disturbing that you would say something like that!" she suddenly scolded defiantly. She wasn't sure what had come over in that moment, but now she was regretting speaking up. _Just don't say another word_.

"Shut up bitch!" Nick yelled angrily. "I'm not disturbed just because I think it's would be interesting to cut off someone's fingers! Don't talk to me like that again or I might have to try it out on you!"

"I didn't mean…I just…I would never-" Before she could finish, Nick's hand landed on her cheek in a hard slap.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I'm not trying to steal anything!" Nathan yelled desperately as he looked from the opening and closing doors to the officer who now held his cell phone, wallet, and car keys as another one patted him down for possible stolen food items. "I need to get home, my wife might be hurt!"

"Why might your wife be hurt?" the security guard patting down his arms said in an all but serious tone.

"Because there are two criminals there with her," Nathan snapped, not even trying to hide the hostility in his voice.

"Yeah, ok Einstein. Try and think of another excuse please. Although it's original, it's far from believable," the officer holding his belongings chuckled. This would definitely serve as his entertainment for the day. Not many potential thieves used the excuse that a couple of criminals were holding their wife captive.

"You don't understand," Nathan said in frustration as he jammed his fingers through his hair. "I have to get out of here!"

"Mr. um," the man took a look at the ID inside the wallet before continuing, "Scott, Mr. Keller is a regular customer here and we take his words and opinions very seriously. If he thinks you were trying to steal something, then you probably were."

"Are you kidding me? Chris is my neighbor, he hates me, he hit me in the head with a baseball bat a few years ago, of course he said I was trying to steal something!" Nathan couldn't handle this. He couldn't take the thought that Haley was at home with Nick and Nicki and he was stuck here trying to convince idiots that he wasn't trying to steal anything. Knowing that made him feel sick. He should be there with her right now.

Although she had insisted that he go to the store without her, the guilt he still felt was unbearable. He should have made her come, back pain or not. Or he should have just not come at all. With every passing second his anxiety and anger grew. _If it wasn't for that jackass Chris I'd already be home with her!_ "How much longer is this going to take?" he asked impatiently as he looked over at the man who was now looking over every single one of his credit cards.

"That depends," he replied, not taking his eyes off of the Visa in his hand. "How can you afford a card like this?"

"That's none of your damn business," Nathan snapped. "You have to let me go."

"I don't have to do anything!" the guard retorted as he shoved the Visa back into the wallet and then tossed the wallet onto the table with Nathan's other belongings. "It's an attitude like that that will get you sent over to the police station for questioning."

Nathan stared coldly at the officer. It was obvious that he was trying to intimidate him by threatening to call the cops. That's when it hit him. What was he really going to do when he got home? What good was he against two criminals who could very possibly have guns? "God, if you're going to keep me here, can you at least call the cops and tell them to go to my condo? Please sir, you have to-"

"What exactly is going on that I would need to call the police for?" the man asked as he eyed Nathan suspiciously. He definitely didn't believe that story about the criminals and his wife, but why else would the young man ask for the police to be involved?

"I already told you!" Nathan yelled exasperatedly. "My pregnant wife is home with two criminals who have been in hiding from the police for a month!"

At this, a light bulb seemed to go off in both of the officers' heads as they exchanged glances. "Son, can you tell us the name of these so called criminals?"

"Nick and Nicki Chavez," Nathan answered instantly and watched as the man's eyes grew wide with recognition of the name. Nathan was assuming that all law enforcement officers had been notified of the two fugitives and at the mention of their names they would finally believe his story. "I was on the phone with my wife when they came to the door…God, just call the damn cops already!"

The officer standing next to Nathan's belongings nodded his head to the man who had just concluded that Nathan wasn't trying to steal anything and finished patting him down. The officer hurried behind a desk and picked up a phone and Nathan looked at the man who was holding his wallet out to him gratefully.

"Here's your wallet, your keys, and your phone," the man said solemnly. He still wasn't sure whether Nathan was lying or not, but at this point it looked more like not. If he hadn't been lying and his wife was injured, the security guard wasn't sure how he'd justify holding the man when it had been pretty obvious that he wasn't stealing anything.

"Can I go?" he asked hurriedly.

"Not so fast," the guard commanded. "We still need to make sure your story checks out with the police."

Nathan waited impatiently as the other security guard spoke to a 911 operator on the phone. He then looked down at his own phone. 10 minutes. It had been 10 minutes since he had talked to Haley. 10 long minutes that he had no idea what was going on at home. He was going crazy, he had to know if she was ok. Without thinking, he dialed the number for the condo and waited while it rang.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the older officer, the one who had gone through his belongings, yelled out upon seeing Nathan using his cell phone.

Nathan ignored his warnings to hang it up and felt his heart start beating faster when he heard the other end of the phone pick up. No one said anything, but Nathan knew that someone was listening. "Haley, are you ok? Please just-" His words were cut off when the call was ended.

"Scott, you're free to go," the younger security guard, the one who had been talking on the phone but had handed the receiver off to the more senior officer.

"Thanks, do you need the address of the condo to tell the police?" he asked as he started for the door, wanting them to hurry up with their answer so he could get out of there.

"No, I found it on a business card in your wallet," the older one said before waving him off. Needing no farther encouragement to leave, Nathan ran out the sliding glass doors and to his car.

* * *

"Someone should really tell your husband not to be so whiny," Nick mused as he sat back down in the chair next to Haley. Nick had just answered the ringing phone in the condo and heard Nathan Scott practically begging to hear Haley's voice. Nick had no respect for men as whipped as that. It was pathetic.

Haley just sat silently. She had known who it was as soon as the phone started ringing and her heart was breaking for him knowing how worried he must be. She wished she could just tell him she was fine. As fine as she could be while two psychos were raiding her home and she was forced to sit by helplessly.

"Nick, I don't think it's in here," Nicki said flatly from Tim's room where she was still searching around clothes, in drawers, and even under the mattress.

"Well keep looking, Nicki. God," Nick cursed. Women were so incompetent. He asked her to do one small job and she couldn't do it. Typical.

"Why don't we switch jobs, maybe you can see something I haven't?" Nicki suggested bitterly as she came through the door. As soon as she was back in the kitchen, she noticed Haley's face and how much redder one side was than the other. "Nick, did you hit her?"

"She was talking too much," Nick excused while not looking his sister in the eye. They had talked about not hurting anyone because they didn't want any extra charges if they were to get caught somewhere down the road, but the girl was talking and it was really getting on his nerves. What was he supposed to do, ignore her? Ignoring the source of your annoyance never worked, so he had decided to make her stop. It's not like he hurt her really bad, just a harmless slap.

"Ugh, you are so stupid! Go in there and look, I'll stay out here," she commanded. Her tone told him that she wasn't messing around anymore and she wasn't going to be walked all over like earlier so he complied and walked into Tim's room as Nicki sat down in the seat he had just been in. "Just don't talk around him. He likes to hit things," she advised.

Haley looked up at Nicki before nodding her head. She was having trouble figuring her out. She was terrible enough to break in here in hopes of stealing a priceless necklace, but still had a decent enough heart to defend her against her brother. What was the catch?

They sat for a good 10 minutes in silence as Nick cursed in the other room every time he looked somewhere and found nothing. Those 10 minutes had seemed to drag on for an eternity for Haley. The one thing that kept going through her mind was where were both the police and her husband? She could understand if Nathan waited outside while the police came up and arrested Nick and Nicki, but there were no police. She had seen no lights and heard no sirens, they weren't here yet. It just seemed strange since she had talked to Nathan 20 minutes ago and she really doubted that it would take him 20 minutes to get home from the store or the police 20 minutes to get here from the station.

"Nicki! The goddamn closet door just got jammed! Get in here and help me get it off!" Nick yelled from the other room. Nicki rolled her eyes before getting out of her chair and walking into Tim's room.

Almost as soon as Nicki was out of the room, Haley looked up at the front door to see it slowly opening. She held her breath waiting to see whoever it was and to see what Nick and Nicki were going to do when they saw that someone else was entering the condo.

Just as she was about to say something to the person on the other side of the door and warn them to get out while they could, a familiar head of raven dark hair peeped in. Haley gasped softly while fighting the urge to burst into tears of relief and despair. She would know that head of hair anywhere, and now that he was here she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more terrified.

As soon as she saw his face peer cautiously around the door the tears started flowing easily down her face. She didn't dare move for fear that one of the Chavez's would hear her and come back in, but one look into her eyes told Nathan all that he needed to know.

_God, she's crying,_ he said frantically to himself. He looked around and realized that Nick and Nicki were both in Tim's bedroom before quietly advancing towards his wife. "Hales, shh, baby it's ok. I'm here now," he whispered as he knelt down in front of her and gently reached out to wipe the tears from her face.

She flinched slightly as his hand came in contact with her cheek and it was only then that Nathan noticed the redness of it. "Did one of those bastards hit you?" he asked appalled. He could tell the answer from her eyes and a wave of fresh anger hit him. "I'm going to kill those jackasses."

"Nathan, no," Haley whispered as she grabbed onto his arm to keep him from going into the bedroom. "You need to leave. I think they have a gun and-"

She stopped suddenly and clamped her eyes shut as her teeth dug into her bottom lip. "Haley? What's wrong?" Nathan whispered worriedly as he watched her.

"Nothing, it's just that the pain isn't really in my back anymore," she whispered before looking back up at him. "Maybe I ate something weird. Now you need to leave. The police are coming, right?"

"Yeah, they're coming. Come on, we need to get out of here," Nathan said quietly as he moved to help her stand up.

"No!" she objected in a loud whisper. It was so loud that both froze and looked towards the doorway of Tim's room to make sure they hadn't heard. "No, I can't go. I'm too slow. They'd notice that I'm gone and then run after us…no. You go and wait for the police."

Nathan stared at her in disbelief. Did she really think he would leave her here with them? "Not a chance in hell. You're either coming with me or I'm staying with you."

"Nathan, don't do this, please just go. I don't think they'll hurt me, well, Nicki won't."

"Yeah right. They're not going to hurt you? One of them hit you! You're coming with me. I'll carry you if I have to," Nathan whispered resolutely. Just then, they heard the loud sound of the closet door breaking off followed by a few cheers from both of the siblings. "Come on, get up," he commanded.

Haley knew that there was no arguing with him and if she waited much longer then Nick or Nicki would come out and find Nathan. There were so many ways that could end badly. She had a feeling that neither of them would be happy about seeing that he had snuck in. She reached her hands out to him and he quickly helped pull her up so she was standing and then he put his hand on the small of her back as they hurriedly headed for the door.

"Not so fast," a deep voice called from the doorway to Tim's bedroom. Both Nathan and Haley froze and turned around slowly to see Nick Chavez staring back at them with a small silver handgun aimed right at them.

"Oh my God," Haley said under her breath before Nathan stepped in front of her.

"Haley, leave," he commanded.

"I wouldn't do that unless you want a bullet put through your husband's skull," Nick warned with a menacing grin. He lived for torment like this. It really got his blood flowing.

"Haley, just go," Nathan told her sternly. He didn't need to see her to know how scared she was. Her shaking hands were telling enough.

"But-"

"Now."

"I'm not playing games here, Haley," Nick warned as he clicked the safety on the gun off.

Haley felt as if she were going to hyperventilate. Obviously she wasn't going to leave Nathan here and call Nick's bluff, but staying meant that they could all end up killed.

"Haley, I love you, now get out of here," Nathan said softly, hoping to make it easier for her to leave. He had a feeling that Nick wasn't going to shoot him because shooting off the gun would alert the police and Nick didn't know that they had already been called and were going to be here any minute.

"I'm no leaving you," she whispered.

"Oh God! Cry me a river!" Nick laughed before taking aim with the gun again. "Here, I'll make it easy for you." With that, he pulled the trigger and the small condo echoed with the loud shot.


	36. Chapter 36

Hello everyone...so, you can probably guess what I'm going to say...I'm soooo incredibly sorry for the wait for this chapter. I've been so busy with school and everything. Again, I apologize and I hope this chapter is worth the wait. I want to thank all of you amazing people who reviewed the last chapter. I never expected to get as many as I did and it completely warmed my heart. So thank you. Lastly, I want to dedicate this chapter to Kirstie for being the first to give me the good news that James got his hair cut. You made my day. :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 36**

"Here, I'll make it easy for you." That one statement sent chills down Haley's spine. She grabbed Nathan's arm as if holding on to it for dear life. Nathan watched Nick intently as his index finder seemed to move to the trigger of the gun in slow motion. Haley saw it too and in that moment she quickly pushed Nathan in the side as hard as she possibly could, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground just at the shot rang out.

"Oh my God!" Haley screamed as she sunk to the ground herself and covered her head with her arms instinctively.

Nathan looked up at the smug smile on Nick's face incredulously before looking at the wall behind him. Sure enough, a small hole was clearly visible in the door frame right where Nathan had been standing a second ago. Nick started laughing menacingly at the torment he was causing as Nathan looked over at Haley, concerned when she didn't look up but still held her head in her arms terrified.

"Nick! Are you insane! What the hell?! I cannot believe you just shot off the gun! You are so damn stupid! Oh my God! You're the biggest dumbass in the world!" Nicki exploded as she hurried out of Tim's bedroom.

"Relax, I didn't kill either of them thanks to the bitch," Nick shrugged.

"Haley?" Nathan called worriedly as she got up to his knees and inched towards her still hunched over and slightly shaking figure. "Hales, are you ok?"

Haley heard his alarmed voice, but couldn't seem to move from the little ball she had rolled herself into. This wasn't happening. This was a nightmare. A nightmare that she was going to wake up from any minute. It had to be. Any time now she would wake up and Nathan would sweetly kiss her temple as she recounted the terrifying dream. Yeah, that was it. This was all just one bad dream.

"Haley?" Nathan asked again, this time more sharply. He needed an answer; he needed to know that she was scared, but otherwise fine.

This time Haley responded by looking over at him and then up at Nick who chuckled upon seeing her large brown eyes wide with fear and shock.

Nicki grabbed the gun from Nick's hand in her fury before clicking the safety back on and then tossing it haphazardly onto the bed in Tim's room. "Do you have any idea what you just did with your moronic torture?" she asked in a tone so low that Nick was a little scared. "Because of you we only have a maximum of 10 minutes before the police get here."

"Oh please, you think the police actually heard that?" Nick scoffed.

"Hales, you're ok, right?" Nathan asked softly as he moved closer to her. Her looking at him had reassured him that she wasn't hurt and now that Nick and Nicki were arguing and the gun was in a different room he felt more confident in moving about as he pleased. He could beat Nick in a fist fight any day.

Haley nodded her head before reaching out and pulling him closer to her, resting her forehead on his. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as the thoughts of what had just happened and what could have just happened invaded her mind. That bullet could have easily hit Nathan instead of the doorframe. The mere thought of it made her hold onto him a little tighter.

Why hadn't she listened to him? She could have fought through the then small pain in her back and gone to the store. At the time, she had thought that he was just being over protective and the notion that either of the Chavez's would show up had seemed ridiculous. They were three days away from moving home, so close that she had thought that there was no chance of something like this happening before they left.

She had been wrong, and she would admit it. Of course, if she had gone, then they would have come home to find Nick and Nicki in their condo all the same, but either way here they were. Now they had to find some way out.

"Just go into the bedroom and look some more," Nicki ordered, "and don't even think about touching the gun again. We need to be gone in 10 minutes, necklace or no necklace." Nick gave her a hard stare before grunting and stomping past her into the bedroom, slamming the door in the midst of his tantrum. "You two, go sit on the couch."

Nathan and Haley looked at each other, both knowing that once they were on the couch and away from the door, they weren't going to leave until Nick and Nicki did.

"I said go!" she yelled when Nathan didn't remove his arms from around Haley and neither of them made a move to get up and walk to the couch. God, the last thing they needed was a hostage revolt.

"Come on, Hales. We have to get up," Nathan whispered softly in her ear as one of his hands ran soothingly down her back. Nicki was being fairly level headed at the moment and he didn't want to do anything to set her off.

"I can't," Haley choked out as she forced herself to look away from the floor and up at him.

"Yes you can. I'm right here, I'll help you," Nathan encouraged. "We're only going over there to the couch and then you can sit down again-"

"No, I can't, Nathan. I can't get up," she responded adamantly. Nathan was relieved to hear her raise her voice at him in a way, he felt like that meant she was going to be fine after this was over. However, his short-lived sense of calm faded with her next words. "It hurts," she whispered. "I think something's wrong."

"What do you mean something's wrong?" Nathan asked quietly, praying that she wasn't talking about what he thought she was.

"She means something's not right," Nicki supplied sarcastically. "Now get on the couch, both of you before I show you something 'not right'."

Haley bit her bottom lip as she grabbed Nathan's arm and tried to stand up, only to be met by a sharp ache in her side that caused her to double over in pain. With the pain, she started to cry again. This time not out of fear of the two people holding her captive, but out of fear for her baby. Something was wrong with him. She could feel it.

"It's ok, baby. I got you," Nathan said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, all but carrying her, and helped her over to the couch where she sat down. Nathan had never felt more helpless in his life. Here she was, in pain, crying, and he could do nothing because of the woman watching him over his shoulder. His eyes grew wide with panic when Haley bent over in pain again upon sitting on the couch. His mind thought of thousands of things that could be wrong with James, the one that stuck out in his mind the most was that he was dying.

No, he quickly shook that thought out of his head as he fought the urge to throw up. He couldn't think like that. James was going to be fine. Haley was going to be fine. They had to be.

"Ok, it's a little bit better now," Haley said softly as she rubbed a hand over her stomach as if to calm the little boy and tell him that he was fine. The pain had subsided for the most part and now she was praying that it didn't come back. Maybe it had been some kind of stress related cramp? She didn't know and she didn't want to know as long as it didn't happen again.

"I want you each on opposite ends of the couch," Nicki ordered as she watched them. She had been pregnant before, and although the two sitting on the couch probably would never guess this, but she did have a small conscience. She cared about her daughter. Not enough to give up her dreams of one day taking over the family business, but she would never want anything bad to happen to Jenny. Something about seeing another mother in pain like that didn't sit well with her. "No talking either."

Nathan looked back at Nicki to see if she was actually serious about them not talking and was met by a hard warning stare._ I guess she's serious_. He was expecting the police to show up any minute now. He had left the store about 10 minutes ago and may have 'accidentally' run a small number of red lights and might have gone a few miles over the speed limit on his way here, so it would make sense for the police to arrive in the next five minutes. At that realization, Nathan suddenly felt reassured. The police would get here, Nick and Nicki would be arrested, and Haley could see a doctor. Only a few more minutes.

"Nicki! I can't find a damn thing in here! Are we sure that the necklace is even in this room?" Nick yelled angrily from the bedroom. They only had about 10 minutes left to search and he was fairly certain that he had already turned over every square inch of Tim's bedroom. Strangely, the room looked pretty much the same as before they had trashed it.

"No, we're not sure," Nicki stated calmly as Nick came out from the bedroom and met her in the doorway. "Why don't you start in the other bedroom and I'll look out here."

"What if I want to look out here?" Nick asked defiantly. He didn't like his sister giving orders and if she insisted on doing it, he wasn't going to make it easy for her.

"You're not looking out here, Nick. The last time you were in a room alone with them you practically set off an alarm! You might as well have sent the police a text message telling them where we were! So, since you royally screwed us over, you're going to do what I say. And I say that you're going to look in the other bedroom!"

All three of the other people in the condo were silent after Nicki's outburst and an uncomfortable air filled the room. Haley was sure that Nick was getting ready to lose his temper yet again and one look at Nathan told he was about to do the same. She knew that he was probably scared too, but was more angry than scared. It made her even more on edge to know that he was angry because when he was angry he was a loose cannon. The last thing she wanted was for him to act on his anger and get himself hurt.

"Fine, I'll look in the damn bedroom," Nick conceded solemnly. "But we're switching places in a few minutes."

Nicki rolled her eyes as Nick disappeared into the bedroom. "I meant it when I said you two can't talk," she warned as she turned back to the two sitting on the couch. "In fact, don't even look at each other unless you want unnecessary attention."

Haley let out a deep breath before facing forward. She could feel Nathan looking at her defiantly, wanting her to look at him so their eyes could speak to each other, but she couldn't. There was no way she would knowingly put them in any more danger than they were already in. She had to think of a way out of this, and fast. She could already feel the familiar pain in her abdomen building up again and she was terrified that it was going to get worse.

Why weren't the police here? If Nathan had called them before he left the grocery store, then they would have had over 10 minutes to get here, and the police station was only about 10 minutes away. Maybe somehow they didn't get the message? No, Nathan had called them. He had said they were on the way, so that meant that he had called them. They were just taking their sweet time and would be here any minute.

Nathan was a little unnerved that Haley didn't look at him, but knew why she didn't. He had no doubt that she knew that he wanted her to look, but she wasn't the type of person to break the 'rules' like that. She would never do something to knowingly get both of them in trouble. He was sure that they were thinking the same thing though, where were the police?

The security guard had called them, Nathan knew that for sure, and he had gotten the address from a business card in Nathan's wallet…that was when it hit him. There was no business card for the condo complex in his wallet. At the time, Nathan had been too frazzled and in a hurry to even realize it, but the only business card he had in his wallet was one that Tim had given him and written his new cell phone number on the back of.

_Shit. _The police were headed to the wrong condo complex. Nathan racked his brain trying to think of what address was on the front, if it was close enough, there was a chance that the police had head the gunshot and were on their way here right now. He remembered that Tim had gotten a new cell phone a few weeks ago and had gotten one of those customized numbers, one that spelled out 'Timster'. He had complained about having to go half way up the beach just to find a store with the model he wanted…_damn it._ The business card was for a large hotel that Nathan remembered being about a half an hour up the beach.

Perfect. So the police weren't coming and they hadn't heard the gunshot. Of course, there was a possibility that someone else had and had called the police, but Nathan knew that that was unlikely. There were too many sounds that resembled gunshots these days, cars backfiring, fireworks, balloons popping, there were so many possibilities and he doubted that many people would risk calling the police and then looking like idiots if it turned out to be something else.

Haley looked up suddenly when she heard Nathan mutter something under his breath. Their eyes locked for a second before she quickly turned her head away when Nicki cleared her throat. That second was all she needed to get the message that the police weren't coming. She could see it in his eyes, the way he looked so helplessly at her.

She had to think of something, some way to get away from here safely. Nick and Nicki were too paranoid to let them go, but also too paranoid to let them stay. Haley could tell that when they were finished here they would no doubt find a way to shut her and Nathan up, and that was what had her most concerned.

She racked her brain trying to think of some way to distract them, or persuade them to let them both go, or even some way to contact the police. Then something her mom taught her when she was younger popped into her head.

Haley had been about 6 years old when her mother rounded up all children and sat them down to give them a lesson on the hazards of talking with your mouth full and choking. Lydia had stressed over and over again that if you try to speak while your mouth is full of food, something will go down the wrong pipe. Then she had said that if any of them were ever alone when they were choking, they were to call 911 and then hang up. 911 would then call back automatically and if no one answered, they would send someone over to see what was wrong.

At the time, Haley had thought that to be useless information. She was a polite child who always chewed with her mouth closed, but now she was glad she had listened. If only she could get a hold of the only other phone in the condo, a cordless phone that happened to be sitting on top of the coffee table in front of her, then she could call 911 and be certain that neither Nick nor Nicki would pick up when they called back.

So that was her plan. She had to grab the phone in front of her without letting Nicki see her, then she had to call 911 silently and hang up before the operator's voice could be heard from the tiny speaker. It was her only chance of getting the police here and subsequently saving herself and her family.

Nathan watched her curiously from the corner of his eye and noticed that she was thinking. She always chewed on her bottom lip when she was thinking and right now that was exactly what she was doing. For a spilt second, she looked up at him before her eyes glanced at the phone on the table and then back to the floor. So that's what she was thinking. She was planning on getting the phone and she needed his help.

He casually glanced over his shoulder to see Nicki bent over going through the pantry and motioned to Haley with his hand that she was clear. Nodding slightly, she eased forward and reached her arm out to grab the phone knowing that Nathan was keeping a close eye on Nicki.

Almost as soon as her hand came into contact with the phone, Nathan noticed Nicki starting to stand up and quickly tapped Haley's thigh to warn her. Reacting quickly, Haley tossed the phone onto the couch where Nathan put it between two couch cushions.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nicki asked suspiciously as she turned around to see Haley sitting somewhat more towards the edge of the couch and leaning over a little.

"I-" Before she cold finish, the throbbing in her lower abdomen returned and sent her bending forward in pain.

Nathan quickly grabbed her hand to offer what little support he could before looking at Nicki to dare her to tell him it was against her rules. If they weren't going to let them leave, then they sure as hell weren't going to keep him from trying to help his wife.

"You're in labor, you know," Nicki pointed out nonchalantly as she bent back over to throw more of the foods in the pantry out of the way.

At this, Haley's head shot up. "No I'm not."

"I've been in labor before so I know what it feels like, looks like, and sounds like. Trust me, you're in labor."

"Why the hell would we trust you for anything?" Nathan spat back. Haley's pain seemed to have subsided somewhat because she loosened her death grip on his hand.

"You're right, that was an unfortunate choice of words," Nicki smirked. "I was only trying to help. You might want to help us find the necklace so we can get out of here and you can get to the hospital."

"I'm not in labor," Haley said adamantly.

"Why do you think that?" Nicki laughed.

"It's too early. It's only cramps from stress or something," she responded coldly as she stared at the dark haired girl in their kitchen. There was no way she was in labor like Nicki said. James wasn't ready to come out yet.

"Believe me, I've had those too. They're way different," Nicki stated before turning back to the task at hand. "You'll see that I'm right when the kid pops out in a couple of hours."

Nathan and Haley looked at each other worriedly. _Nicki is wrong_, Haley thought desperately, _he can't come out for another month._ Then Haley remembered the phone and what she had to do in order to get them out of there. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Nicki was still bent over; she reached in between the couch cushions and slowly pulled out the phone, her family's lifeline.

Nathan watched Nicki carefully as he glanced back and forth from her to the phone in Haley's hand. He could hear the muffled beep of each of the three numbers as Haley dialed them while keeping her other hand pressed firmly over the speaker.

As soon as Haley saw on the small screen of the phone that the operator had picked up, she counted to five and then hung up, praying that her plan would work. It would, as long as neither Nick nor Nicki answered the phone. Haley quickly and carefully placed the phone back where she had found it while she waited for 911 to call back.

"Nicki! We're switching spots!" Nick commanded as he stomped out of the bedroom, one of Nathan's t-shirts in his right hand and Haley's favorite bathing suit top in the left. "I'm sick of looking through clothes! I want to go through the food and smash the dishes and stuff."

"Nick, you don't have to go through the clothes, just throw them out of the closet and look behind them," Nicki groaned. He always made everything so difficult.

"Well, if it's so easy, then why don't you do it?" Before Nicki could say anything in her defense, the phone in the condo started ringing. Both of their heads shot over to the closest source of the ringing which happened to be a cordless phone sitting on the coffee table.

"Was that phone there the whole time?" Nicki asked as she eyed the two sitting on the couch suspiciously.

"Yeah, I remember when I threw the phone before I thought it was ironic that it broke only about 3 feet from the other one," Nick chuckled menacingly.

"That's not ironic you moron. Use a dictionary every now and then. God," Nicki cursed. "You know I hate it when you try to sound smart because it makes you sound even more stupid."

"Whatever, are you going to answer the damn phone?" Nick spat. If there was one thing he was through tolerating from his sister it was her incessant insults and her undermining of his authority.

"No I'm not going to answer the phone!" Nicki yelled incredulously. "What would I say? Sorry, the people who live here are being held captive right now while we ransack their condo, again, in hopes of stealing a priceless necklace? That will go over well," she scoffed. "Try using your brain, moron."

"Well, maybe whoever it is will get suspicious if no one answers," Nick mumbled, knowing his logic was not as good as his sister's. "Never mind, just go into the bedroom and keep looking."

"Don't mess anything up," Nicki warned as she disappeared into the bedroom and Nick grunted in triumph. Haley watched the scene and then looked over at Nathan, the concern evident in her eyes. Nicki had been more merciful that Nick was known to be, and Haley was extremely worried that he was going to hold a grudge against Nathan for sneaking in.

"So, hero boy, how the hell did you get in here?" Nick laughed.

"You're not as secluded in here as you might like to think," Nathan said coolly as he looked directly at Nick. He wasn't going to tell Nick that he had watched the shadows under the door until he saw them disappear into a different room because Nick didn't deserve to know. The phone had stopped ringing by now and he could only hope that the police would be here in a matter of minutes.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did your little whore call you or something?"

"Hey-" Haley protested before falling silent.

"It means that if I can get in, anyone can," Nathan replied.

"No they can't! I locked the door!" Nick yelled back. "No one's coming in and no one's going out. Got it?" Nick looked pointedly at Haley whose eyes were large and starting to fill with tears. _Good, looks like I scared her_.

"Stop looking at her," Nathan commanded.

"Or what?" Nick challenged with a mocking grin.

"Nathan-"

"Look man, I don't know what the hell your problem is, but we just want to get out of here and go to the hospital," Nathan started. "We're not going to stop at the damn police station on the way and turn you in."

"Damn right you're not, because you're not leaving."

"It's not like it would matter anyway," Nathan continued antagonistically.

"Nathan-"

"The police already know that you're the ones who trashed the place last time. Hell, you probably have your own satellite by now."

"Shut up, no we don't. It's impossible to use a satellite to track people," Nick grumbled. Nathan had to be bluffing. Only bad ass people like terrorists and people who steal gasoline got satellites put out for them. _Or is it terrorists and whale killers? _Nick couldn't remember what he had read in the New York Times, but either way, he was no gasoline stealer or whale killer. Terrorist maybe, but not those other things. _That would be pretty cool to be on America's Most Wanted…_

"Are you kidding me? Yes they can. Did you even finish grade school?" Nathan laughed as he watched Nick's anger flare. He just couldn't help himself. Nick didn't have the gun with him so he felt relatively safe when saying all this. Besides, he was never going to get a chance to bring Nick down a notch again.

"Yes I did! My mom said that once you get past 5th grade it doesn't really matter anymore anyway," Nick defended himself before realizing what he was doing. "Just shut up before I go get my handy little gun and make your whore pay for your mean words-"

"Nathan!" Both men were taken off guard by Haley screaming his name in order to get his attention. As soon as Nathan looked over at her tear stained face and wide desperate eyes, he knew something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Uh, Nicki!" Nick shouted as soon as he saw Haley's face. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to be able to handle what she was about to say and that Nicki would know what to do.

"Hales, baby, what's wrong?" Nathan asked in a panicked voice as he reached over to cup her face with his hands, scared to death by her sudden tears.

Haley took a deep breath in an attempt to regain her voice before speaking. "I um, I think that my water just broke."


	37. Chapter 37

Hello everyone. :) Thank you sooo much for the reviews for the last chapter and all of your encouraging words. They really do mean so much to me. So, you all are in luck. This chapter was longer than I thought, so I added another chapter into my plans. lol. I think there will be two after this and then and epilogue. So, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 37**

"I um, I think that my water just broke." Haley's eyes were full of salty tears and her voice was thick with fear.

"What do you mean you think?" Nathan asked softly, brushing the tears from her face. Haley only looked at him and nodded her head, as if saying it out loud would make it more real. Nathan let out a shaky breath; this could not be worse timing for the little guy to make an appearance. "Ok, it's going to be ok Hales, I promise. We just, we're going to get to the hospital," he whispered soothingly as more tears escaped from Haley's eyes.

"You don't know that. Nathan, he can't…it's too early," she stated desperately, "oh God." Another pain that she now knew was a contraction hit her and she grabbed his hands and clamped her eyes and mouth shut as she waited for it to pass.

Nathan watched her, never feeling more helpless or scared in his life. What the hell were they going to do? He knew nothing about problems that could occur when a woman gave birth, but he assumed that if Haley was having some kind of complication that caused her to go into labor early, then she needed to be at a hospital.

She slowly released his hands and her eyes opened slightly and met his. He could see more tears clouding her vision, but knew that they weren't from the pain. He knew she was tough and would put up with the pain for as long as possible, right now she was crying because their baby was coming and she could do nothing about it.

"Nicki! Get your ass in here!" Nick yelled from behind them as he watched the scene.

"Shh, Hales, calm down," Nathan soothed as he pushed more hair out of her face.

Haley shook her head. "How am I supposed to calm down? I'm being held hostage by two psychopaths and I'm having a baby!" she yelled.

"What did you just say?" Nick spat angrily as he took a step towards the couch.

"She didn't mean-"

"Yes I did mean it, Nathan," Haley shouted. "You're psychotic! You and your sister! Do you even care? Do you know what you've done? It's your fault that he's going to be born too early!"

Nathan's stomach dropped as he heard his wife scolding the man in front of her. If he knew one thing about Nick it was that he hated to be criticized. Haley had lost it and Nathan could feel himself reaching his breaking point as well. Nick and Nicki had better hope to God that Haley and James ended up being fine or he would be coming after them. "Haley-"

"What, Nathan? You know I'm right!" Haley's yells were now more of sobs as she tried to maintain her composure long enough to tell Nick what she was thinking. This nightmare had become too real too quick and the only people she could and would blame were the Chavez's. "He's just a baby!" she shouted as she turned back to Nick, "He's just a little boy. How can you sit there and not care that you could be the reason an innocent baby might-"

She couldn't finish her rant before sobbing completely overtook her voice. Nathan quickly gathered her in his arms in hopes of both calming her and keeping a fuming Nick away. "He's going to be ok. I promise, Haley. He's going to be fine," he whispered into her ear as Nicki finally emerged from the bedroom.

"What's going on?" she asked confusedly as she looked from a hysterical Haley, to a frantic Nathan, to a seething Nick. _Oh boy_.

"The bitch just said I killed her baby!" Nick yelled angrily, not noticing the way Nicki's mouth dropped and her face clearly showed disgust towards him.

"Shut the hell up!" Nathan yelled suddenly, still holding Haley's shaking body to his own. The two things he least wanted to hear were Nick calling his wife a bitch and him referring to his son as dead.

"Maybe you should tell that to your wife!" Nick retorted.

"Nick, you didn't…I mean…God, what the hell did you do?" Nicki asked solemnly, her eyes glued to the young woman on the couch.

"Me?! I didn't do anything!" he exploded. "Her water broke and then she started screaming at me that it was my fault and that I didn't care that the kid might die or something!"

"Was it your fault?" Nicki asked blankly.

"What the hell?! No! I didn't do anything!"

"You mean other than hold us here against our will, hit me, and try to shoot my husband?" Haley snapped impulsively, lifting her tear-stained face from Nathan's now tear-stained shirt.

"Stop talking," Nick commanded gruffly, "or I'll try harder to shoot him."

"Nick, you're only making it worse," Nicki groaned. "Nathan, take her into the bedroom so she can change into some dry shorts.

Nathan nodded appreciatively before reaching out to take Haley's hand and help her stand up. "I'll go in and make sure they don't try anything," Nick offered with a devious smile. "In fact, I should probably be the one to help her change, just in case."

"Over my dead body," Nathan snapped.

"Now there's a thought," Nick laughed heartily.

"Nick, just leave them alone," Nicki said flatly. She didn't think it was necessary for him to mock the two like that. If he wanted to scare them a little just to keep them in line, that was fine, but she found herself strangely unsettled by anything and everything he did to physically hurt Nathan and especially Haley. She supposed it was her maternal instinct that was making her empathize with the young woman, but if that was true she had to wonder why that instinct hadn't surfaced years ago when she had become a mother herself. "You two," she said, turning to Nathan and Haley, "hurry up."

Nathan and Haley both nodded before making their way towards the bedroom, her hand holding his arm tightly for support. As soon as they were inside and Haley was sitting as comfortably as possible on the bed, Nathan closed the door and locked it, not caring whether or not the two outside would like it. There was no way that he was going to take the chance of Nick barging in with the idea in his head that he was going to help Haley change her clothes.

The first thing he saw when he turned around was Haley already hunched over by the closet, one hand gripping her stomach and one pulling a pair of his basketball shorts off of their assigned shelf. "You don't care if I wear these, right?" she asked faintly, already sure that she knew the answer.

He shook his head before walking over and helping her back to the bed. "Here, just sit and I'll help you put them on-"

"I'm not disabled," she responded lightly, obviously trying to relieve some of the tension in the air. As if proving that she was capable of changing her own shorts, she took them from Nathan's hand and started to remove her own. Nathan almost winced as he watched her in so much pain, more than anything he wanted to take it away. "No, I can do it myself," she assured him as she swatted his hand away from her feet where he started to take off her shoes for her. "Ok, you can do the shoes," she half-smiled as she realized that she couldn't reach her own feet.

Once she had successfully changed into Nathan's looser and more comfortable shorts, she let herself lay back comfortably on the bed, propping herself up with her elbows, as she tried to calm herself down. "Stop it," she commanded lightly as felt Nathan's worried eyes on her. "I'm fine."

"No you're not, you need a doctor," he said as he jammed his hand through his hair. Right now it seemed like he was more worried about the situation than she was, and he didn't like it. "I don't know what to do, Haley. We can't stay here, but we can't leave-"

He stopped short when he witnessed her sharp intake of breath and she reached one of her hands out in search of his. He hurried to her side, taking her hand and letting her squeeze it as she fought through the pain of the contraction. _We've got to get out of here now_, Nathan thought desperately. There was no way he was letting his son be born here with two maniacs in the same condo.

Once the pain subsided a little, Haley relaxed her grip on his hand as she battled the tears that were once again welling in her eyes. She didn't want to cry anymore. She had to be strong for her baby, and crying would get her nowhere. She kept telling herself this, but it did little to stop the tears from falling and ease her anxiety.

"Don't cry, Hales, I'm right here," Nathan tried his hardest to soothe her, but knew that his efforts were probably worthless since he was in the same place as her. He felt hopeless and trapped and he had no idea how they would get out of this safely. "I love you, you know that?"

A ghost of a smile crossed her lips as she nodded her head and bit at her lip to keep from sobbing. "I love you too."

Nathan easily leaned over, brushing his lips softly against hers before moving his face down to her oversized middle. "James, buddy, I know you can hear me so listen up. You're not allowed to come out yet, ok? Just wait a little while longer, until we get to the hospital at least."

"Nathan-"

He looked up at her and watched her nod her head towards the door. Upon shifting his eyes to follow hers he saw what she was worried about. The doorknob was juggling slightly and they were both sure that they would have company in the room in a few seconds. _Damn locks. Why are they even on the door if they can be picked?_

Their assumptions were correct and moments later the door swung open and both Nick and Nicki walked in stone faced. "You," Nicki commanded as she pointed at Nathan, "go stand by Nick. I'm going to look at her."

Nathan didn't really know what she meant by that, but he complied upon seeing the shining metal of the gun tucked safely in her back pocket. At least it wasn't Nick who was going to 'look at her'.

Haley watched questioningly from her seat on the bed as Nicki made her way over towards her, sitting on the bed and then reaching over to rest her hand on Haley's stomach.

"What are you doing?" she snapped as she swatted her captor's hand away from the one thing she wanted most to protect.

"Relax, I'm trying to help. In case you forgot, I've had a baby myself," Nicki responded, hostility evident in her voice. Deciding that she shouldn't anger the woman holding the gun, she didn't move when Nicki tried again to put her hand on her belly. "How far apart are your contractions?"

"Um, about five minutes I guess," Haley answered softly, knowing that that wasn't a good thing.

"Five minutes?" Nicki asked, shocked. "Damn you're having a fast labor."

Haley didn't need to be reminded of that fact and she instantly shot Nicki a look that told her so. She knew that most mothers would love to have a quick birth, but she was not one of them at the moment. Right then she would have traded a one hour birth for a ten hour one in a heartbeat.

"Maybe I should check to see how far she's dilated?" Nick suggested with a ominous grin. Haley's mouth fell open and Nicki jerked her head around to give Nick her evil eye. "What? Isn't that what the doctors do? You know, look down there and-"

Before he could finish, Nathan had him pinned against the wall by his neck, obviously having met his breaking point. "First of all, don't even think about it," he warned loudly. "Secondly, you're not a damn doctor which is what she needs!"

"Get the hell off of me!" Nick squeaked through a raspy voice. "Nicki, shoot him!"

Haley's eyes went wide as she watched the scene, looking from her husband to the woman next to her who, to Haley's relief, wasn't making a move to reach for the gun. "No way, Nick, you deserve this you jackass."

"Nathan, let him go," Haley pleaded from her seat on the bed. Normally, she would have been next to him holding his arm, knowing how much physical contact always calmed him down, but with each passing minute it seemed to be becoming harder and harder to try and stand up. "It's ok, what he said, just let him go."

Upon hearing her words, Nathan reluctantly loosened his grip on Nick's neck slightly. "You see that, Nicki? The bitch even controls him!" Nick's face was met a moment later by Nathan's fist and he immediately fell to the floor in pain.

"You deserved that too, you moron," Nicki responded, shaking her head. If Nick was going to try and play his little mind games with the Scotts instead of focusing on the job they still had yet to do, then he deserved to be hit.

"We're leaving," Nathan said firmly as he hurriedly wrapped Haley's arm around his neck and helped her stand up.

"No you're not," Nicki's voice matched the firmness of his own as she reached back and brought the gun into plain view. "If you leave, it will only be when I say so."

"You tell them, sis," Nick cheered from the floor where he was slowly sitting up and holding his nose.

"Shut up, Nick. Stop being a wuss and go in the other room and find the damn necklace!" she screamed. Nicki had clearly reached her breaking point as well and Haley couldn't help but fear that that was a very bad thing. "You two, since you're already up, go back to the couch where we can keep an eye on you."

Nick struggled to his feet and then walked with his hand on his face back into the living room, followed by Nathan and Haley who were quietly making their way back to the couch, hoping not to set Nicki off any more.

Once they had made it to the couch, Nathan helped Haley lower herself onto it as he himself stayed standing. He just couldn't bring himself to sit. He felt like he needed to pace the floor or something. There had to be a way out of this, some type of loophole. He glanced at the clock and realized that it had been a little over 10 minutes since Haley had called 911. _Where are the damn police?_

"Nicki, my nose feels better now, give me the gun," Nick commanded gruffly as he came up behind his sister, his hands outstretched expectantly.

"Why?" she responded warily, tightening her grip on the gun.

"Because I'm going to kill that bastard for touching me!" Nick yelled as if that should have been obvious. No one made him look like a fool and got away with it. "Either you kill him or I will."

Haley looked desperately over at Nathan, their eyes locking. _This cannot be happening_, she thought. _It's ok, Nathan's going to be fine, James is going to be fine, the police will be here in a minute or two_, she told herself calmingly. She had to believe that in order to keep her sanity. What would she do if something happened to either one of them? The thought had her reaching out for Nathan's hand and he instantly grabbed it as if needing to touch her as much as she needed to touch him.

"You're not going to kill him," Nicki stated flatly.

"Ok, maybe you didn't hear me, but I said I'm killing him, and I'm the boss so hand it over!"

"Who exactly made you boss? I'm the one holding the gun," she countered, her eyes locked on her brother.

"I'm the boss because I'm older, and I'm a guy. That gives me authority over you."

At this Nicki let out a loud snort followed by a laugh. "You're kidding me, right? I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"I did say that, now hand over the gun!" Nick demanded. Nathan and Haley watched the argument intently, knowing that their lives were dependant on the outcome.

"Nick, you're stupid, that's why you're not the boss," she snapped back. "Think about it. It's been almost 20 minutes since you fired the first shot and the police haven't shown up. Are you really going to test fate like that again?"

"Hell yes I am!"

"No, you're not," Nicki sighed dramatically. "You're going to go start looking over by the TV while I finish the kitchen. And don't even think about pulling the superior gender card again, it makes you sound like a bigger moron than you already are."

Nick only rolled his eyes, deciding to give up the argument for the time being, and turned towards the living room area to see Haley obviously suffering from another contraction. "Hey, does it hurt?" he asked her casually as he passed and made his way towards the TV. When she didn't answer, he assumed that it did. "Good."

Haley could sense Nathan beside her starting to lose it again so she grasped his hand tighter. They had both made it this far and were still alive, and she didn't want a malicious comment to ruin that. She didn't even care what Nick said anymore. She was past the point of showing any emotion whatsoever towards the man. He could sit there and criticize her as much as he wanted and she wouldn't care. As far as she was concerned, he didn't even deserve to be listened to.

Nicki rolled her eyes at Nick's rude remark and then her eyes landed on Haley, whose most recent contraction seemed to be subsiding. As she watched Haley rub a soft hand over her swollen stomach affectionately and then whisper something, a sudden pang of pity hit her like a bucket of cold water. "Nick, I think we should let them go to the hospital," she said resolutely as the other three people in the condo snapped their heads up to stare at her. "Her labor's moving really fast, she needs a doctor."

"No way, Nicki! If we let them go they'll tell on us!" Nick yelled defensively. This whole situation had turned into way more than he had bargained for. All he wanted was to steal the necklace and move on with his life. He never asked for a pregnant woman to go into labor as he held her hostage.

"What are you, two years old?" Nathan snapped. "She needs a doctor!"

"Nick, if we don't let them go and the baby dies, we could end up with murder charges on top of everything else," Nicki stated calmly, trying to justify what she was pleading.

"You're talking as if we've already been caught," Nick responded gravely. They were in an impossible situation now. If they let Haley go, they would surely be caught, but if they kept her here then he was going to have to endure the bloodcurdling screams that women always let out when they were in labor. "Ok, go, get out of here," he conceded quietly as he waved his hand dismissively.

Nathan let out a deep breath, was there some kind of catch to this? After all that had happened in the half an hour he had been here he had trouble believing that Nick was just going to let them go. Nevertheless, they had to get out of there if he was letting them. Haley reached for his hand and he instinctively took it as he wrapped the other one around her waist to help her stand up.

"Whoa, not you hero boy," Nick commanded suddenly. "I said she could go, I said nothing about you."

"What?" Haley gasped, convincing herself that she had heard wrong.

"I'm pretty sure that you heard me," he laughed. Nicki watched him, not saying a word.

"You're not serious," Nathan said more like a question than a statement.

"Of course I'm serious!" Nick roared. "You think I joke about things like this when my ass is on the line? She goes, you stay."

Haley looked at Nathan and knew what he was thinking because she was thinking the same thing. What good was her freedom without his? She couldn't drive in her condition, she didn't have a cell phone with her, Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton were all out enjoying their last Wednesday night of summer, and Whitey was in Raleigh for a funeral. That only left one person in the condo complex that she even knew…Chris.

"I want to stay here," Haley said weakly.

"You can't, I'm kicking you out," Nick shrugged. "I don't want to listen to your whining any more, so go."

Haley shuddered as she turned to look at Nathan. She already knew that he was going to tell her to go, but that didn't make it any easier to hear it. She knew she had to go and she knew that Chris was basically her only chance; she could only hope that he was there.

"It's ok, go," Nathan said softly, the conflict she was feeling plainly written on her face.

"But-"

"I'll be ok, just take care of yourself," he assured her. The last thing wanted to see was her staying here and something happening to her. She was their only chance now. It seemed that the police weren't coming, so now it was up to her to get them out of this.

"I love you," she whispered as she pulled him into a tight hug. "I'll come back for you."

"No, you need to get to a hospital first," he whispered back into her ear. His first and only priority was he and their baby. He didn't want to be safe until they were.

"Nathan…please don't make me leave you here, you know I can't," she choked out, tears starting to flow from her eyes.

"I'm not," he assured her as he fought the lump that was forming in his own throat. "Take care of yourself and the baby first. Don't worry about me." Haley pushed herself up on her toes to leave a quick kiss on his lips. "And I love you too," he whispered. "Now go."

* * *

"No Ashley, you're not hearing what I'm saying. I went to the grocery store to get that special tea that's supposed to help you build muscle, but they were all out. So I got some milk instead," Chris said evenly into his cell phone as he sat on the couch flipping through the TV channels. "I figured strong bones are just as good as strong muscles." 

Just then, Chris heard a strange noise outside of his door. "Whoa, Ash, I think- sorry, Ash_ley_- I think there's a seagull eating something on the other side of my door. Yes that's possible!"

He held the phone to his shoulder so he could listen better. It sounded like soft footsteps and heavy breathing accompanied by a few low whimpers. "You're not going to believe this, but I think the seagull is eating something live! Like a dog or something…they do too eat dogs!"

Then Chris was interrupted by a soft tap at the door. "Shit! Ashley, save me! The seagull is knocking on my door! You've seen _The Birds_ right? I think it's going to attack me!"

The knocking stopped suddenly and Chris could have sworn he heard someone crying, but that wouldn't make sense since birds didn't cry. "What? Of course I'm sure it's a bird!" he snapped into his phone. "Well, actually I'm not, but bird was the first thing to pop into my head. You know what they say about first instincts."

Chris cautiously approached the door and looked out the peephole. "Ashley, I gotta go, It's not a bird, it's my hot neighbor," he said into the phone upon seeing Haley leaning against the doorframe with her head in her hands. _She must have had a fight with the shoplifting hubby, _he thought_, which means it's time for Chris Keller to pounce._

He quickly shut his phone and opened the door to be met by the shocked and somewhat relieved face of Haley Scott. Before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms around him and started sobbing. "Um…ok…"

Haley couldn't describe how happy she was to see him right now. A few minutes ago she had left her husband in a condo with two criminals and now, after struggling to make it down the steps to the first floor, she had found someone who could help her.

"You're not looking so good, Haley," Chris pointed out as he lightly dislodged her arms from around him and stepped out of her embrace, motioning for her to come inside. "Jesus, you do know you have a bruise on your face, right?"

Haley nodded as she slowly made her way to the couch clutching her stomach, needing to sit down somewhere. "Chris, I need you to, um, I need you to call the police," she managed to say just before she reached the couch.

"Why would I do that when they're already here?" he asked confusedly.

As soon as she heard his words, her head shot up and she turned around. "What?"

"Yeah, I saw a few police cars pull up like a minute ago," Chris shrugged. "Why?"

"I…we…they're here?" Tears were still coming steadily out of her eyes as she started moving slowly towards the door again to see for herself.

"Yeah…seriously, what's wrong with you?" he asked, completely baffled by what was going on. She seemed to be in some kind of pain and she was sweating a lot, but he she hadn't said anything about being in pain so he couldn't really assume that. This was all just a little weird. Most of the time she wouldn't get any where near him, and then she randomly showed up at his door and hugged him?

"I'm just... I need to sit down," she gasped as she reached to door and gripped the frame to keep herself steady. She looked out and could see the faint flash of blue and red lights. The police _were_ here, everything was going to be ok.

Then they heard it, the loud echo of a shot from a small handgun and everything seemed to move on high-speed. There was a rush of commotion from out by the police cars and Haley could feel her head spinning. "Nathan!" she screamed desperately as her vision clouded completely with tears and she started to make her way back towards the steps, one hand on her stomach, one on the wall.

"What the hell was that?" Chris yelled, stunned eyes wide. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked when he noticed Haley approaching the steps, shaking and bent over as she held her stomach. But before she could say anything, she collapsed, her body laying motionless at the bottom of the stairs.


	38. Chapter 38

...Hello. Wow, I feel terrible. It took so long for me to get this chapter up. I'm truly sorry. I could probably find a million excuses to give you, but what it comes down to is I don't know how to manage my time. (I should never have taken AP US History. lol) I feel absolutely awful about making you all wait this long and I promise that it will never ever take this long again. Anyway, thank you so much to the amazing people who sent me a review for the last chapter. I adore you all. Seriously.

Now I have a question for all of you. For my own future reference, which do you prefer: a) shorter chapters updated every day or two, or b) longer chapters updated every couple of days or once a week? I don't really deserve any reviews since this took so long, but if you do decide to leave me one, I would appreciate an answer to that. :) So, here's the next chapter. Sorry again for the wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 38**

Nick and Nicki Chavez stared wide-eyed at the man now holding their precious gun. It had all happened so fast, one minute they had again been arguing about whether or not to kill their only remaining captive, and the next Nathan had the gun pointed at them. How he had taken it from Nicki's hand without either of them realizing it was a mystery.

"Whoa, take it easy Scott, I was never going to kill you," Nick laughed nervously. How the hell did he get a hold of the gun? This had turned into a nightmare. The hostage was never supposed to have the upper hand on the captor, it would never end good.

"Nathan, if you give us the gun back, we'll let you go," Nicki proposed sweetly as if she were trying to persuade a disobedient five year old to go down for a nap. The last 30 seconds were a blur to her. She had had the gun…and then he had it. It just didn't make sense.

"I think you're forgetting that now that I have the gun I can do whatever the hell I want," Nathan said in a low voice as he snapped the safety off. He had been waiting patiently as the argument between Nick and Nicki heated up and when he saw their eyes glaze over in rage towards each other he had known it was his only chance. He almost had to laugh at how easily Nicki had let go of the gun because she was so consumed in the fight with her brother. All he had had to do was reach for it and she practically handed it to him.

So now he held all of the power, he was just waiting for the right time to use it. Haley had left just a minute or two ago and he knew that she was going to go to Chris's because he was the only that was possibly home and he also knew that she was going to take the stairs rather than the elevator in an attempt to save time no matter what amount of pain she was in. The thought of her being in any pain at all was enough to make him want to shoot Nick on the spot, but he couldn't. He had to give her time to call the police again.

Then out of the corner of his eye he saw the faint flash of a red and blue light in the window and realized that the police were already here. The call Haley had made to 911 had worked and now he just had to let them know where to find the criminals.

"Nick, just take the gun from him," Nicki commanded. "He's just a city boy; he doesn't know how to use it."

Nathan laughed at that and then pointed the gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. Not only had he just proved that he could fire a gun, but he was sure that the police had heard it and were both calling for backup and surrounding the building.

Both Chavez's now stood dumbfounded. This wasn't happening, their well thought out plan was deteriorating right in front of their eyes and they didn't like it. Nathan hurriedly snapped the safety back on the gun and headed for the door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going with my gun?" Nick snapped possessively as the front door swung open and Nathan stepped into the hallway.

"I'm going to find my wife and take her to the hospital," Nathan said bitterly. "You can try to leave if you want, but my guess is that the police already have the place surrounded." With that, he slammed the door shut and headed for the stairs.

He knew that Haley couldn't have gone too far because of the amount pain she was in, so Chris's condo was his first guess at where she was at, and no matter how much he hated Chris, he hoped she was safely inside his condo.

"Holy shit!" He heard a voice cry out as soon as he reached the top of the stairs. Was that Chris? "Haley? Can you hear me? Wake up!"

This time it was Nathan's turn to curse, that did not sound good. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could and when he reached the bottom he was sure his hear stopped beating. "Oh my God. Chris, what happened?" he asked frantically as he rushed over to the motionless body of his wife on the floor.

"I don't know, one minute she was telling me she wanted me to call the police, then she was saying she needed to sit down, then we heard some loud boom like a gunshot or something, then she walked out here and collapsed," Chris said hurriedly. Never in his life had something as weird as this happened to him. "It was almost like she- whoa! Is that a gun in your back pocket? What the hell!"

"Chris, shut up and go get one of the police officers," Nathan barked as he battled the lump rising in his throat again. "Haley? Haley, wake up. Please, baby, wake up," he said softly as he gathered her in his arms and gently ran his hand down the side of her face. _She just passed out, she'll be ok_, he told himself desperately. He had to believe that; he couldn't even let his mind start thinking of all the terrible possibilities of what had happened to her.

"Um, what am I supposed to say to a police officer when I find one?" Chris asked casually as if waiting for specific directions from Nathan.

"I don't care what the hell you say!" he yelled in desperation. "Just go find someone, anyone, who can help her!"

Chris watched Nathan as he turned back to the young woman in his arms and began to whisper to her again. He had never seen Nathan looking so rattled and it actually scared him a little. For as long as he had known him, Nathan Scott had never gotten emotional, and now Chris was witnessing what was as close to a breakdown as they come. Nathan was all but crying at this point and he knew that if Haley didn't wake up soon, Nathan would probably loose it. Not wanting to be around if and when that happened, Chris scurried off in search of one of the police officers that had been parked outside just a minute ago.

"Hales, you have to wake up," Nathan choked out. He really wasn't sure how long she'd been unconscious, but to him it felt like an eternity. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were free from Nick and Nicki now and they could finally get to the hospital, she was supposed to be fine. She was supposed to be talking to him right now, holding his hand, and yelling at him for getting her pregnant in the first place. This reality was all wrong. "Come on, I need you to wake up for me."

He could hear shouts coming from the stairs and assumed it was the police on the third floor arresting Nick and Nicki, but at the moment he couldn't care less. All he wanted was for her to wake up. As if sensing his need for her, her eyes slowly opened and she blinked a few times until her vision cleared up.

"Haley?" he asked softly as she looked at him confusedly. As soon as he saw her deep chocolate brown eyes, he knew that she was going to be ok, that everything was going to be ok. Staring into her eyes did that to him.

"Please tell me you're not an angel," she whispered after taking a few seconds to regain her voice.

Nathan laughed softly out of relief as he pressed a sweet kissed her temple and hugged her to him as gently as he could. "God, don't ever do that again," he commanded in a whisper.

"I -" A sudden pain, the worst one she had felt yet, ripped through her lower abdomen and sent her gasping as her hands flew to grip her stomach.

"Shit," he cursed. In all of the confusion he had almost forgotten that she wasn't ok. She may be conscious, but she wasn't ok. "Where the hell is Chris?"

"Nathan, it hurts …it hurts so much," Haley cried, the pain she had been fighting for the past half an hour finally becoming unbearable. James seemed intent on appearing as fast as possible.

"I know, baby, I know," he calmed her as he brushed the hair from her face. "Screw you Keller," Nathan muttered bitterly as he looked to both ends of the hallway, impatiently waiting for Chris to bring help. Haley's grabbing his hand and holding onto it for dear life caused him to immediately decide that waiting for Chris wasn't an option anymore. She needed help now. "Haley, I'm going to pick you up, ok?"

Haley nodded and whimpered slightly as Nathan reached his arms under her back and legs and lifted her up as gently as possible. The pain had dulled slightly now, but hadn't really subsided, something she missed about her contractions from earlier. They were getting so close together that it seemed to her that as soon as one ended another one started.

"Hey, we need help over here!" Nathan called desperately as he got out of the hallway and made his way towards the parking lot where he knew he had seen the lights of the police cars.

Everything from then on seemed like a dream to Haley, almost as though she weren't really there and was watching the scene unfold from across the parking lot. She could hear Nathan's panicked voice as well as the calm one of a police officer, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

Flashing lights seemed to be everywhere and the number of them looked as if it was increasing. She clung to Nathan as though her were her life preserver in this sea of chaos. Before she knew it, she was strapped into an ambulance with Nathan on one side of her and a paramedic on the other.

The dream-like haze continued when they arrived at the hospital. The beeping of the monitors she had been rapidly hooked up to, the voices of the doctors and nurses telling her to calm down and push, and the faint sounds of people scurrying about outside the door were all muffled. The pain and fear dulled every voice but one. The only thing she was able to make out was the smooth sound of her husband's voice whispering encouragements in her ear.

"Hales, you need to push, ok?" he pleaded softly.

"No! It's too early!" she sobbed as she tried her best to withstand the pain shooting through her entire body. The doctor said something then, but she couldn't hear him and kept her focus on the pained expression across Nathan's face. "Don't let him…he can't be born yet!"

The doctor said something again and Nathan looked up at him as Haley held his hands tightly. Recognizing that she couldn't and wouldn't hear a word the doctor said, Nathan leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. "Haley, the doctor said it's too late for that. The baby is coming and trying to stop it is only making it worse for him."

Haley only shook her head as she took a deep breath and tried not to scream at the never-ending contractions. "He's going to be fine. Just please do what the doctor says." Nathan was trying as hard as he could to keep the conflict he was feeling off of his face. The last thing Haley needed was to see him coming unraveled by this.

For a brief moment her eyes met his and all of her fears subsided. "You have to push," he said softly, both of them ignoring the doctor who was saying the same thing. This time Haley nodded before letting out a shaky breath and grabbing his hands even tighter.

She wasn't sure if it was from pain or the tears that were backed up in her eyes, but either way her vision was cloudy as she looked up at the doctor, silently begging him to make sure her baby was ok. She saw him nod and then say something that was drowned out by the combination of her cries and the bustling about of the nurses preparing for the birth.

Nathan brought her hand delicately to his lips before smoothing the hair out of her face. "We have a head of dark hair," the doctor announced encouragingly and Nathan face broke into a large smile as Haley both laughed and cried at the same time.

The instant the small cry was heard throughout the room, it was as if all of Haley's senses were heightened. The fog that had clouded her vision vanished and the muffled voices became clear. A euphoric state captivated both Nathan and Haley at the sound of their son.

"Oh my God," Nathan said softly as a smile spread across his face and he quickly leaned over to kiss Haley's temple. "You did so good, baby."

Haley was both crying and smiling as the doctor held the tiny baby up for the parents to see while the nurse cut the umbilical chord and then wrapped him in a blue blanket. "Can I hold him?" she managed to say between tears and joyful laughs.

The doctor smiled before placing the tightly wrapped baby into Haley's arms. "Oh my God," she breathed out shakily as she held his tiny body in her arms. "Hi baby."

Nathan stared at the baby in Haley's arms and had to swallow the lump that was rising in his throat. Was this a dream? Never in his life had he felt so insanely happy, so insanely in love with two people. Everything that had happened less than 30 minutes ago didn't matter, all that mattered was his wife and the baby boy she held in her arms.

"He's perfect," he whispered as he reached over to softly rub the back of the baby's head. Haley only nodded in agreement before gently kissing the dark hair of her son.

* * *

"Brooke, will you please stop texting? We're in a move theater for God's sake," Lucas complained quietly as he watched his girlfriend rapidly punching buttons on her phone. 

"Why does it matter if we're in a movie theater or not?" Brooke responded innocently as she pressed the 'send' button.

"Because your phone is lighting up the whole place," he said with irritation. "People are staring."

"Let them. I'm sure watching me is more interesting than this lame movie anyway."

"What could possibly be so important that you can't wait until the movie is over?" His patience was starting to wear thin and he wasn't sure if he would be able to take the glares from the old women beside him much longer.

"Haley hasn't texted me since we left and it's making me nervous," she shrugged.

"Do you mind dear? We're trying to watch a movie," one of the older women chastised bitterly. "If you don't put that obnoxious light away I will have to involve security."

"Oh please," Brooke rolled her eyes in response. "You don't scare me, granny. Why are you even here? This is a horror movie."

"Brooke!" Lucas whispered in disapproval before turning to the aghast woman apologetically. "I'm sorry, she didn't mean it."

The woman shook her head in displeasure before turning to say something to her friend. "Brooke, please just put your phone away-"

"Lucas," she hissed, "didn't you hear what I said? I haven't heard from Haley since she was over at our condo this afternoon and now she isn't returning my texts!"

"Can you please lower your voice?" he pleaded as he looked around nervously at the frowning faces staring at them. "I think you're overreacting. It's not like she has to be in contact with you at all times."

"But she _promised_ that she would text me during the movie to distract me," she justified.

"Maybe she forgot."

"Haley doesn't forget things," Brooke snapped. "Don't you care that our best friend isn't answering my texts?"

"Ugh, Brooke, I'm sure she's fine. She and Nathan probably just went out to dinner or something. Either that or she just doesn't have her phone with her." Lucas really couldn't see what the cause of his girlfriend's worry was; it had only been a couple of hours since they'd seen her.

"I texted Nathan too," she explained, "and he never said anything back either."

"Brooke, you're blowing this way out of proportion. Did you ever think that…maybe they don't want to be disturbed?" As soon as he said this he regretted it because of all of the mental pictures that popped into his head.

Brooke was silent for a moment as if considering the possibility. "No. She promised to text me and she hasn't. Oh my God! What if they got into a car accident and are now stranded in a ditch on the side of the road?! You know the way that Nathan drives, what if they-"

"Shut up lady!" an unruly voice called from the back row.

"Don't you tell me to shut up! We all know that you're not really watching the movie up there anyway!" she hollered back in frustration.

"Brooke! Just please stop talking; we'll call them when the movie's over." Lucas was past the point of mortification now. He hated being the center of attention and he especially hated it when he was the center of attention for a bad reason.

"Fine, but when we find out that they've gone missing, don't say I didn't warn you," she fired back in a low voice before stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

After about ten seconds of silence throughout the theater, a new noise was heard, but this time it wasn't a voice, it was a phone. As soon as it started ringing, people around Brooke and Lucas started to groan and mutter profanities.

"Who the hell's phone is that?" the same person from the top row yelled out angrily.

Suddenly, realization dawned on Lucas; it was his phone that was causing the disruption this time. "Shit!" he mumbled as he reached into his pocket and pulled it out to see a number that he didn't recognize.

Brooke kinked her eyebrow as she watched Lucas trying to decide if he should answer it or not. "So I'm not allowed to text but you can leave your phone on?"

Lucas ignored her as he flipped the phone opened and whispered into it. "Hello?"

"Lucas?"

"Nathan, hi, can I call you back? This is kind of a bad time-"

"Uh no, you can't call me back. I don't have my phone with me. We're at the hospital."

"You're where?" he all but yelled in disbelief. "Hold on." He grabbed Brooke's hand and they climbed over the row of unhappy movie-goers as they made their way to the exit. Brooke could have sworn she heard someone yell "don't come back" just as they exited the theater, but she couldn't be sure.

"Nathan, ok, so where are you?"

"At the hospital," he answered.

"Why?" Lucas gasped. Hospitals were not a good place to be unexpectedly.

"Where are they?" Brooke whispered beside him.

"The hospital," Lucas relayed as he watched Brooke's mouth drop open in shock. Before he could say anything, she had ripped the phone away from him and was holding it up to her own ear.

"What happened? Did you get in an accident? I told Lucas that something was wrong! Oh my God, are you both ok? I-"

"Brooke, calm down, we're both fine. Haley just had the baby."

"What?!" she shrieked, causing all of the people in line for snacks to jump and then stare unappreciatively. "But she's not due for over a month!"

Lucas's head shot up when he heard Brooke's proclamation. "What's wrong with the baby?" he asked quickly.

"Haley just had the baby!" Brooke answered him hysterically. Lucas's eyes widened as she spoke into the phone again. "Is he ok? I mean, he's so early-"

"He seems to be fine," Nathan responded, cutting off her rant. "The doctors are looking at him now to make sure he's ok."

"That's good," Brooke let out a deep breath followed by Lucas doing the same thing. "Why didn't you call us? I wanted to be there!"

"It all happened really fast, Brooke." Nathan's voice was starting to show the fatigue that he felt and she noticed. "I'll explain when you guys get here."

"Ok, we'll be there as soon as we can," Brooke assured him. "Do you need us to bring anything? Does Haley have her things with her?"

"No, she doesn't, but don't go get anything from the condo."

"Why?" her puzzled voice was enough to make Lucas curious too and he leaned in closer to try and hear Nathan's response.

"I'll explain when you get here," he sighed. "Can you do me a favor though?"

"Sure," she replied dutifully. Her mind was still spinning from the fact that her best friend just had baby so she hoped that whatever he was about to ask didn't require a lot of thought.

"Can you call Peyton and tell her?"

"Yeah, I can do that," she nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see the gesture.

"Thanks."

"We'll see you soon," she promised as she looked at Lucas before closing the phone.

* * *

"Ok, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, your parents, and my mom are all on their way," Nathan said as he walked back into the hospital room where Haley was waiting patiently in the bed. 

"Thank you," she smiled.

"For what?" he chuckled as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

She only shrugged and smiled. She knew that there were so many things that should be on her mind, such as the inevitable questioning by the police, but she could only think about the tiny blue-eyed boy that was her son.

"Knock knock," a young nurse called softly as she entered the room pushing a generic hospital baby bed. "The doctor will be in in a few minutes to discuss the results of the tests they ran," she smiled softly as she wheeled the bed over to Haley's bed side and then gently lifted a content baby into Haley's arms.

"Thanks," Nathan smiled as he stared at his son. The nurse smiled and then left the young couple in the room alone as they waited for the doctor. "Hey there James."

"Do you want to hold him?" Haley asked suddenly as she cradled the small boy in her arms.

"What? No, I don't think that's a good idea," he stuttered as he looked from James's peaceful face to Haley's curious one.

"Why not?" she giggled.

"Because… I don't know… I've never really held a baby, especially not one as small as him…I might break him," he admitted sheepishly as Haley laughed.

"Nathan Scott, you make no sense sometimes," she chuckled softly. "You're not going to break him. Come over here."

Nathan did as he was commanded and pulled a chair up right next to her. He watched nervously as she carefully handed the precious bundle off to him. Making sure he supported his head, he brought the baby close to his body and held him. "Wow, so this is what 5 pounds 4 ounces feels like," he smiled as he relished in the feel of the warm body in his arms.

Haley giggled when she saw Nathan's panicked eyes as he watched James squirm slightly before settling down. "You're good with him," she encouraged warmly.

He smiled at her before looking down at the perfect face of his baby. "I think he likes me."

"Of course he does, you're his daddy," Haley grinned before looking up just in time to see the doctor walk in.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Scott, I'm Dr. Masen, I performed the tests on your son," the grey haired man announced gently as he pulled a chair up next to Nathan. Both Nathan and Haley looked at him anxiously, waiting to find out what the results were.

"As you both know, James here was born about six and a half weeks early and sometimes complications can arise in a child born premature like that. Miraculously though, all of his organs seem to be fully developed and we see no indication that any problems will arise in the future."

As soon as the words were said, the relief washed over both Nathan and Haley as they looked from their son to the doctor with grateful smiles.

"We're going to want to keep him here a little longer than normal for observation of course, but other than that you should be able to treat him as any normal baby," Dr. Masen smiled. He loved giving couples the news that their baby was perfectly healthy; it was one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.

They talked to the doctor for a few more minutes before he decided that he would leave them alone with their son. "Thank you so much, Doctor," Haley said, the relief and joy still evident in her voice.

"You take care now, James," the doctor smiled down at the baby before exiting. As if recognizing his name, James opened his blue eyes and started to wiggle a little uncomfortably.

Nathan automatically shifted him ever so slightly so he would be able to rest more easily in the crook of his arm as Haley reached over to softly run her hand down the baby's delicate face. Before long, he was asleep again.


	39. Chapter 39

Hello everyone. So, I was able to cut off a whole week in time it takes me to update since last time. That's progress. :) Thank you so much to all of the amazing people who reviewed the last chapter. You all kept me motivated to write through severe writer's block. Yay! This is the last chapter of the story... _tear_. But, don't worry, there's still an epilogue coming, so you can look forward to that. :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Chapter 39**

"I wasn't sure if he'd like Duke blue or UNC blue so I got him both," Brooke explained as she held the tiny baby undershirts up for Nathan and Haley to see.

"There's no way we're dressing him in the UNC one, Brooke," Nathan said firmly. "He doesn't like that wimpy blue; he likes the Blue Devil blue."

"How do _you_ know?" she retorted as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You've only known him for a couple of hours! And UNC blue is _not_ wimpy; it's fashionable, unlike that God awful dark blue that you have to wear."

"Brooke, I'm sure he'll like both of them. Thank you," Haley said sweetly as she threw a warning glance at Nathan who only smiled and shrugged. Brooke and Lucas had arrived 5 minutes ago; Brooke already loaded with gifts that she had bought at the gift shop for the baby.

"So, when can we see him?" Brooke asked excitedly for the fifth time. Haley only laughed and shook her head. Brooke was like a 3 year old who felt the need to ask the same question once every minute.

"Brooke, we have to wait for Peyton and Jake to get here," Lucas chuckled at his girlfriend's enthusiasm. She had been given that same answer every time she asked, but somehow she still needed to hear it to remember.

"Oh, right. I knew that." She looked impatiently at the clock on the wall next to the TV in the hospital room as the other three watched her with amused eyes. "Ok, here's the deal. How about you bring him in so we can see him and then take him back out before Peyton and Jake get here. They'll never even know!"

"Brooke," Haley chuckled. "That wouldn't be fair."

"But Haley!" she whined. "Please! We'll act surprised when you bring him back in the second time, I promise!"

"Brooke, Peyton and Jake are going to be here in a few minutes, just be patient," Lucas chided softly as he sat down on the couch across the room.

"I've been patient for a really long time already!" she complained in protest. "Just have them bring the baby in!"

"Knock knock," a soft voice sounded through the room followed by two figures entering.

"Peyton! Finally! Ok, bring him in!" Brooke squealed excitedly as Peyton walked in with Jake close behind.

"Brooke," Lucas warned with a chuckle.

"How are you?" Peyton asked as she made her way toward Haley and engulfed her in a hug. She still couldn't believe that Haley was no longer pregnant, proven by the obvious deflation of her previously very large abdomen.

"I'm good considering," Haley laughed as she hugged her friend back. Nathan and Lucas took turns shaking hands with Jake as Brooke looked around impatiently.

"Ok, I'm sorry to break up this little love fest, but I want to see the baby!" she yelled anxiously. "You can't keep him from me forever!" Nathan chuckled before nodding and heading out of the room and toward the nurses' desk. "Where the hell is he going? I want that baby and I want him now!"

"He's going to ask the nurse to bring him in," Haley chuckled at her friend's lack of patience.

"Oh, yeah, I knew that," Brooke smiled as she took a seat on the couch next to Lucas. "Isn't this so exciting, Broody? Doesn't it just make you want a baby of your own?"

"Uh…no." Everyone laughed at Lucas's bluntness including Brooke. It didn't bother her that he wasn't ready for kids because she wasn't either. It did tend to irk her though that he wasn't ready for a real commitment; she was still trying to convince herself that he would be ready soon.

"Ok, the nurse is going to go get him from the nursery," Nathan grinned as he reentered the room. The truth was that he was just as excited about all of this as Brooke, he just didn't like to show it so openly. Before Brooke and Lucas had even arrived he was itching with anticipation to see his baby again.

The doctors had thought it best that James spent more time in the nursery than in an exposed hospital room because his immune system was probably very weak and underdeveloped still. Nathan and Haley had agreed and watched as James was taken back to the sterile nursery for a while, both prepared to wait restlessly until they could bring him back in.

"Look at you smiling," Peyton commented with a smirk. It wasn't every day that her best friend smiled as wide as he was smiling right now. "You look like a kid _after_ he's been in a candy store and gotten his mom to buy him everything in it."

"Well, that's how I feel," Nathan shrugged as he walked over to sit on the edge of Haley's bed, softly kissing the top of her head.

"Would you look at that, Nathan Scott, proud papa," Peyton joked as she wrapped her arms around Jake's waist. "If only Tim where here to see this, he'd have a field day."

"Which is exactly why he's not here," Nathan scowled playfully.

"Where is Tim?" Haley suddenly asked, realizing that their roommate was nowhere to be found.

"I couldn't get a hold of him; I guess he turned his phone off during his date for once. I left him a voicemail telling him to come to the hospital."

A few moments later, the sound of a crying baby was heard just outside the door as the nurse hoisted the baby out of the cradle and prepared to bring him in to meet more members of his family.

"Oh my God! Is that him?!" Brooke squealed in a soft voice as the dark-haired nurse entered with a smile and made her way towards Haley's bed.

"No Brooke, that's someone else's baby. They're just bringing him in here for fun," Lucas teased, his eyes never leaving the tiny body in the nurse's arms.

Brooke glared at her boyfriend before turning her attention back to Haley who was receiving the little bundle into her arms and cooing to him. The baby had dark hair and his blue eyes fluttered open upon hearing his mother's voice. "He looks like you, Nathan," Brooke smiled as she watched the baby in awe.

Nathan smiled and nodded. The baby no doubt had his eyes and hair, but his facial expressions were already starting to mirror Haley's. Nathan had already noticed that his son's nose scrunched up when he was mad and his eyes gave away his mood, the same way his mother's did.

"So what's his name?" Peyton said softly as she stepped forward to look at the baby more closely. "You guys never told us his full name."

Haley looked at Nathan with a smile. "His name is James Brian Scott."

"Brian after Whitey," Lucas mused as he too stepped a little closer to his sister-in-law and nephew. "He's beautiful."

"He is, isn't he?" Haley beamed before laughing. She watched the steady rise and fall of James's chest and couldn't help but be happy. He had that effect on her.

"Can I hold him?" Brooke asked timidly from behind Lucas's shoulder where she was hiding.

"Brooke, what the hell are you doing back there?" Nathan laughed only to be met by a disapproving look from his wife. "What?"

"Nathan, it was one thing to say words like that when he was in the womb, but now he's out. You need to be more careful or his first sentence will be 'what the hell'," she teased as she looked adoringly at her baby who was already peacefully asleep in her arms.

"Sorry," he responded as he rolled his eyes playfully. "Brooke, what the _heck_ are you doing back there?"

Haley nodded in approval before Brooke began speaking. "Well, I just, I didn't want to crowd him."

"He's fine," Haley smiled. "Now, do you want to hold him?"

Brooke bit her lip and then nodded like a little girl eagerly waiting for presents from Santa Clause. This was so exciting. Haley beckoned her friend forward and then gently transferred the precious bundle to her. "He's so light," she gasped as she studied what she held in her arms.

"I call holding him after Brooke," Peyton quickly whispered, careful not to wake the infant. Nathan chuckled at their eagerness to hold his son. It was a little weird because four years ago he never would have expected to be the first in his group of friends to have kids. Now that he was, he couldn't imagine it any other way.

"Well, I'm holding him for 20 minutes, Peyton," Brooke whispered back. "so be prepared to wait."

Peyton rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Jake from the side. Jake was watching the baby with a smile on his face, obviously remembering when Jenny was young like that. "So, can I ask what happened? I mean, I offered to go pick some stuff up from the condo and Lucas said you told him not to go back there right now," she said softly as she looked at Nathan who had suddenly become rigid next to his wife.

Haley just looked down at her hands, avoiding looking Peyton in the eyes for fear that she would have to relive the experience to them. She really hadn't thought about what had happened back at the condos much since James was born, her thoughts had been completely focused on him. Nathan had talked to the police before in order to spare her from having to talk about it too much, but now that Peyton mentioned it, the painful memories started to flood back to her.

"Can I talk to you guys outside?" Nathan said quietly after noticing Haley's panicked expression. She had been through a lot tonight; she didn't need to recount it all to their friends.

Peyton, Jake, and Lucas all exchanged curious glances before nodding and heading for the door. "I'm going to stay with Haley and baby James," Brooke said sweetly as she moved over to sit on the edge of Haley's bed, James still nestled tightly in her arms.

Nathan gave Haley a reassuring smile before walking out into the hall with the other three and closing the door behind him. "Nathan, what the hell happened?" Lucas asked quietly. He had known Haley longer than Jake and Peyton and even longer than Nathan. He knew that if there was something she didn't want to talk about or relive, it must be pretty bad.

"You might want to sit down," Nathan warned as the other three stared at him expectantly.

"We're fine," Peyton said stiffly. "Seriously. Did something go wrong? Why was he born this early?"

For a moment, Nathan's eyes flashed with anger but he quickly composed himself as he set out to explain. "I went out to get her frozen lemonade," he started. The tone of his voice let them all know that he regretted that decision. "Tim said he would wait with her until I got back…but he had plans and he had to go…"

"Nathan, what happened?" Lucas asked, his voice raising as he became more and more frightened by his brother's tone.

"Nick and Nicki, they came back." Lucas and Peyton's mouths dropped open and Jake cursed under his breath. "I don't know how they got past the security system, but they did. I was on the phone with her when-" Nathan stopped as he remembered that moment and how helpless he had felt with his wife in trouble and he halfway across town.

"What did they do to her?" Lucas's voice was horrified as he looked over Nathan's should to the door of Haley's hospital room. If Nick or Nicki had hurt his best friend in any way he would kill them himself.

"Nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. That son of a bitch hit her."

"Nick hit her?" Peyton gasped, her eyes wide. Was it possible that what Nathan was describing really happened? How could anyone hit a pregnant woman?

Nathan nodded as he continued. "They were looking for Camilla's necklace, something about paying off a debt, I don't know. They wouldn't let her leave. I got there as fast as I could and we were going to make a run for it, but Nick came out with his gun."

"Oh my God," Lucas whispered. In his entire life he had never been this close to a serious crime. Sure, he had been around Haley when she was younger and their family went through the whole Bobby thing, but never had he known someone who was put in a situation like his brother and sister-in-law.

"To make a long story short, we stayed on the couch while they looked around and then Haley's water broke. Nick didn't want to let us leave but Nicki convinced him after a while to at least let Haley go. So Haley went down to Chris's to get help and I got the gun-"

"How did you get the gun?"

"Haley went to Chris?"

"_Nicki_ convinced Nick to let her go?"

Questions were pouring from their mouths but Nathan was too tired to go into any details of the story with them right now. He figured they'd have plenty of time for that later so right now he should just tell them the main story. "The doctors said that Haley was going into premature labor before everything with Nick and Nicki, but the stress from it all accelerated it to a point where they couldn't stop it."

"But James…is he? You know, is he ok?" Lucas asked softly, praying that Nathan's answer would be positive news.

"The doctors ran some tests and they think he's going to be fine. They don't see any long-term effects of this, so that's a good thing."

"Wow," Peyton breathed. "So that's why you didn't want us to go back? Because it's a crime scene?"

Nathan nodded. He had known that the sight of all of the police and caution tape would have scared all of them and they probably would have come in here hysterical, the last thing Haley needed. "The officer that I talked to earlier said that I should be able to get into the condo to get a few things at some point tomorrow, after the pictures are taken and they've dusted for fingerprints and stuff."

"Nathan, Peyton and I can go get your stuff for you. I mean, if it's too hard for you to go back there," Jake offered as Peyton grabbed his hand and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, I think I'll be fine, I just don't really want to leave them." Nathan smiled sheepishly as if he had just shown some sort of secret weakness.

"Oh please Nathan. We all already know that you're whipped, there's no use in trying to hide it," Peyton joked, an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. None of them were really sure where to go from there regarding everything Nathan had told them or really even what to think of it all, but Peyton was sure that a happier mood would help. "Now, I think it's my turn to hold that baby."

Nathan laughed at his friend's eagerness before re-entering the room to find James safely in Haley's arms and Brooke sitting across the room on the couch. "Brooke, what's going on?" Lucas laughed. She had been so excited to hold the baby and in the ten minutes that they were gone that had already vanished?

"I thought I was going to sneeze," she explained as Haley rolled her eyes playfully from the bed. "Don't roll your eyes at me Tutor-Mom! At least I didn't sneeze on him and get him sick!"

"Brooke, you gave him back over 5 minutes ago and you still haven't sneezed," she giggled as she handed James off to Nathan who had walked over to greet them.

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry," Brooke muttered as Lucas sat down on the couch next to his girlfriend.

"Ok Peyton, you want a turn?" Nathan looked at Peyton and then back down at his baby, half-hoping that she would decline his offer so he could hold little James longer.

"I'm here!" a loud voice was heard out in the hallway. Whoever it was sounded like they were running and completely out of breath. "What happened!" Before any of them could say anything, Tim Smith busted through the door and stopped to make his heart rate slow down.

"Tim, you have so many issues," Peyton mumbled.

Tim looked around the room, his confused eyes stopping when he saw Nathan Scott holding a very small person. "Whoa! Nathan, where did you get that baby?!"

* * *

It had been a week since James's birth and the doctors were satisfied with his development and decided to let the Scott family head home. Nathan and Haley had been ecstatic, but Tim had been even more so. 

"I can finally get back to my dorm lifestyle," he cheered as he loaded his own bag into the back seat of Nathan and Haley's car. Since he had gotten a ride down with them, he had been stuck here until they left. Peyton, Lucas, Brooke, and even Deb and Haley's parents had offered to drop him off at school so he wouldn't miss any class, but he had refused.

"Tim, if you wanted to go back so bad you should have just gone with Brooke and Lucas," Nathan sighed as he looked down at the instructions in his hand. "God, you'd think they'd make baby car seats easy to install."

"Speaking of, I get to sit in the front with you, right?"

"What?"

"Well, I just figured since it's not my baby, I shouldn't have to sit back there with it," Tim shrugged.

"First of all Tim, _he_ has a name, and second of all, I told you to go with Brooke and Lucas." Nathan's famous smirk played across his face at Tim's narrowed eyes.

"But what if _he_ throws up all over me?"

"That is a possibility since he's smart like Haley, so I would pack an extra shirt if I were you." Tim huffed at Nathan's joke before loading another bag into his trunk as he grumbled to himself.

"You boys almost ready to go?"

Nathan and Tim both looked up to see Haley walking towards them with James snuggled comfortably in her arms. It had been hard for her to go back into the condo to get her things, but she had overcome it. She had been released from the hospital a few days before James was so she and Nathan had spent their time both gathering their belongings for their trip back to school and trying to face the memories that haunted them every time they entered the condo complex.

It had gotten easier when they got the news that not only were Nick and Nicki safely behind bars, but that they were going to be tried in a week and were expected to receive the maximum sentence. Over the course of the last week, they had tried to put what happened behind them in order to focus all of their energy on their son, and it had worked rather well.

"Nathan, I think we should go say goodbye to Whitey," Haley smiled as she shifted James in her arms to make him more comfortable. Nathan nodded in agreement and leaned forward to kiss the baby's soft head.

Whitey had just hung up the phone with a pesky reporter when he heard a soft knock at his office door. "If I want to see you, then come in. If I don't, then get out," he called grumpily to whoever was on the other side of the door.

"You heard the man Hales, let's go."

"Nathan Scott, get your ass in here!" Whitey laughed as he stood up and the door opened to reveal the Scott family.

"Hi Whitey," Haley smiled angelically as she made her way over to him and carefully gave him a one-armed hug as she cradled the little boy to her chest. "James wanted to come say goodbye."

Whitey's eyes twinkled as she smiled down at the baby who had been given his name. "May I?"

Haley nodded and gently handed her son off to the old man. Nathan put his arm around Haley's shoulder as they watched the young and the old. Whitey had come to the hospital to visit a couple of times, but this was the first time he got to hold James out in the real world. After everything that happened, he had felt awful and completely responsible for all the took place that caused James's early appearance, but both Nathan and Haley had vehemently denied that any of it was his fault. They assured him that he had done everything he could to keep Nick and Nicki out by installing a security system among other things and the last thing they wanted was for him to feel guilty.

"It's a good thing he has Haley's nose," Whitey stated absentmindedly as he rocked the infant back and forth.

"Hey!" Nathan objected before conceding. He did look pretty cute with a tiny version of Haley's adorable nose.

"You two have to send me pictures, you hear? And not those crappy Polaroid ones either, I mean professional pictures that you would give to any regular member of your family," he demanded as he took a new pacifier off of his desk and gave it to James to suck on.

"Of course," Haley agreed. "We could never not send you pictures, Grandpa."

Whitey's face broke out into a smile upon hearing the word. "You hear that, James? I'm your grandpa so you have to do what I say. Now I want your first word to be 'tar heel' ok? Just to stick it to your old man."

Nathan scowled at old man as Haley giggled. She found it funny that Nathan was so easily bothered by the phrase 'tar heel'. The extreme competitiveness must come with participation in sports, that's the only thing she could think of to explain it.

Just then, the phone started ringing and Whitey frowned upon glancing at the caller ID. "Those damn reporters. I have to take this, but you all have a safe trip back, ok?"

"We will, and thank you for everything, Whitey," Haley smiled as the old man gave the baby to Nathan.

"We'll see you soon," Nathan promised with a smile as the exited the office and Whitey waved and picked up the phone. "Ok James, don't listen to a word Grandpa Whitey says. You are under no circumstance allowed to say 'tar heel' before you say 'blue devil'."

Haley laughed at her husband's absurd command as the approached their car once again, only to find none other than Chris Keller sitting in the front seat talking to Tim. "Hey Keller, get out of my car," Nathan called when he saw the young man sitting with his feet up on the dashboard.

"Hey Nate, Hales, and baby NateHales," Chris smiled, not attempting to move from his spot.

"Wait, did you guys change the kid's name?" Tim asked confusedly as he looked to his former roommates. Nathan rolled his eyes at his best friend's stupidity.

"I was just telling Tim here that Ashley, my agent, said I can come stay with her for a while while I wait for my music career to take off."

"Someone actually offered to let you stay with them?" Nathan asked incredulously. Haley hit him softly on the shoulder and gave him a look that told him to be nice.

"Well, technically, she didn't offer. But I mean, how can she say no when Chris Keller shows up on her doorstep tomorrow?" Chris winked and then hopped out of the car. "I really need to go finish baking some cookies to get on Ashley's good side, so I'll see you all later!"

"Hey Chris," Haley called after him. "Thanks for, you know, _trying_ to help last week."

"No problem. You know, I've always known that I would be good at the role of a superhero if one ever presented itself to me. Just think Keller the Smeller! No wait, that's lame. How about Chris the-"

"Bye Chris," Nathan called abruptly as he leaned into the car and gently strapped James into his seat. He had had about enough of that guy's incessant blabbering.

"Yo Nate, you're not really going to make me sit in the back with the thing, right?"

Haley laughed at Tim's reference to her son as a 'thing'. "Tim, I'm sure James will be a perfect gentleman the whole way. Won't you baby?" As if illustrating his ability to be a good boy, James yawned and then let his eyes close slowly. "See?"

"Whatever. Kirstie said that one time she rode in the back with a baby and it threw up in her hair," Tim complained as he got into the back seat and fastened his seatbelt.

Wanting to keep Tim distracted from his complaining, Nathan decided to change the topic. "Oh yeah, how did your date go with that Kirstie girl? I never got to ask you."

"It sucked!" Tim exploded, waking James up again with his loud voice. "I'm not into girls who don't believe in fun. She wouldn't even go skinny dipping with me! Can you say lame?"

"Tim, you woke up the baby," Haley groaned as she reached back to put a pacifier in the infant's mouth.

"Oops. Oh well. So, are you guys planning on bringing the little guy back here next summer?"

Nathan and Haley looked at each other. So many terrible things had happened here, but still tons of good events seemed to outweigh the bad. When looking back at the condo complex that held so much of their history, it was obvious what they wanted to do.

"I don't know Tim. I guess you'll have to find out next year."


	40. Epilogue

Hello again everyone. I know this took forever for me to update and for that I'm sorry. I think I subconsiously delayed it since this is the end. It's so weird since I've been writing it for almost a year, but, in a way, I'm glad it's finished so I can start something new. :-) I know I say this every time I update, but thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to everyone who reviewed this story at all. It means so much to me that you took the time to encourage me or give me constuctive criticism and it really kept me motivated to keep writing this story.

As for what I will be doing next, I have another story to finish (which I haven't updated in forever...yes, I'm embarassed) but after that I have an idea for another story that I will start to work on in the near future. The reason I write is for fun, but the reason I post some of the things I write is so that you all can enjoy them and hopefully I can put a smile on some of your faces, so I really hope that this story has helped keep some of you entertained and at least put a smile on your faces once or twice. I hope you all had a good holiday and I wish you all well in the new year! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Summary: After 4 years, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim are heading back to the beach for another summer of fun. Some hold secrets, some have suffered through heartbreaks, and some are their same old selves. They will encounter a few familiar faces and unimaginable surprises as they return to the past in this sequel to "A Summer to Remember."

_**Return to the Past**_

**Epilogue**

"Jamie, no. You can't eat that," Nathan scolded his 10 month old son as he pulled a piece of grass out of the child's mouth. "Hales, did you ever eat grass when you were little? Because he didn't get that tendency from me."

"Oh please, he didn't inherit the desire to eat grass," Haley mocked playfully in return as she walked over to where he was sitting on the lawn and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "And so what if I did eat it every now and then when I was little?"

"Well, I think it would explain a few things," he joked as she nestled her face into the crook of his neck. "Uh Hales?"

"Hmm?"

"Your son is trying to eat the deformed bush now."

Haley looked up to see that James had crawled over to the flower bed and was in the process of reaching his tiny hand for a particularly disfigured looking bush. "No no!" she called as she hurried over to him and pulled him into her arms. "James Brian Scott, we do not eat anything that is part of the landscaping, do you understand?"

James giggled as he reached for his mother's golden hair, a particular fascination of his. Haley tickled his stomach as she walked back over to her husband who was standing up and waiting for them. "Jamie, tell Daddy that you promise to never eat another bush," Haley commanded with a smile.

The little boy broke out into giggles and made the promise to his father in a string of gibberish. "Ok, I believe you buddy," Nathan confirmed as he kissed the baby's outstretched palm.

"Well, look what we have here," a pleasant voice called out from behind them. Nathan and Haley turned around to see a familiar old man coming towards them and James started to bounce up and down in his mother's arms.

"Hi Whitey," Haley greeted cheerfully as Nathan hugged the old man.

"I thought I heard you three out here, but then I thought that that was impossible since it's only 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. How'd you get him to roll out of bed this early?" Whitey asked as he motioned towards Nathan.

"Jamie did the honors," Haley chuckled as she remembered their son's wake up call this morning. Neither of them had been particularly happy to wake up to the sound of their son "singing" his version of a Wiggles' song.

"I told Haley that nothing good would ever come from playing that garbage to him," Nathan grumbled. "6:24, Whitey. That's what time this monster woke me up at." Although Nathan's tone was grim, his demeanor indicated that he really didn't have a problem waking up because of the little boy. Jamie giggled again when his father reached over to ruffle his hair affectionately.

"My my, you're such a martyr Nathan Scott," Whitey grinned sarcastically. "Haley, I'm sorry Nathan's devil offspring woke you up this morning. At least little Jamie is more like you most of the time."

Haley laughed and Nathan only scowled at the comment. "I'll have you know, old man, that this kid is the most well behaved boy in the world. That couldn't possibly be all Haley's doing."

"Really?" Whitey kinked an eyebrow. "I have a hard time believing that. You are the one who mutilated that bush over there, remember?"

The eyes of Nathan, Haley, and James all followed Whitey's pointing finger to see the bush that Jamie had crawled over to only moments ago. It was indeed the same bush that Nathan had chopped up 5 years ago. Apparently it still hadn't grown back to its regular shape.

"Hey, don't let Jamie hear about that. We don't want my evil nature to rub off on him," Nathan said sarcastically as he took the child into his arms. "Don't listen to him, buddy. Daddy is a perfectly good boy, practically an angel." Both Whitey and Haley let out a laugh at that part of his statement and Nathan sent them a glare to silence them. "Mommy is definitely more of an angel than Daddy, but Daddy beats Grandpa Whitey in the saintly department by a long shot."

"Now Nathan, don't go putting ridiculous lies in the boy's head," Whitey chuckled as he watched Jamie put his hand on Nathan's mouth and Nathan in turn make a game out of trying to 'eat' the little boy's fingers off. Each time Jamie's fingers escaped by mere seconds, the boy would let out a scream of delight. "So Haley, what time did you say everyone else is arriving?"

They had all graduated from college a little over a month ago and with the NBA drafts out of the way, most of them had decided to make a trip back down to the beach for some fun before Nathan, Haley, and James had to report to Charlotte, the hometown of Nathan's new team. "Uh, I would say any time now."

"Well, make sure you send them all into my office to say hello when they get here," he commanded lightly. "Hey Jamie, why don't you come with me for a few minutes and I'll show you where your mom and dad defaced my sign?"

The baby smiled and stretched his arms out to his grandpa, planting a kiss on the old man's cheek as soon as Nathan handed him over. "You mean that's still there?"

"Of course it is," Whitey smiled simply. "I keep forgetting to have someone paint over it since those damn purple flowers keep it hidden."

"Hey now gramps, watch the language. If I'm not allowed to say it then you're not allowed to say it," Nathan joked as Whitey rolled his eyes and turned around to take the boy out front to see the sign. Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan's waist as he wrapped his around hers and they followed. "Can you believe that's still there?"

"Of course I can," she grinned. "Think about it. That red heart is practically a symbol of our love, it will be there forever."

"Have you been watching those Lifetime movies again?" he laughed.

"They're not _that _bad," she pouted as he laughed and kissed the top of her head. As they followed Whitey to the front of the complex, they couldn't help but look towards the pool area when they heard a particularly familiar voice. "That's not…I mean, it couldn't be…"

"It had better not be that idiot. For his sake I hope he's halfway across the world right now," Nathan mumbled in a low voice. There was no way the voice could be coming from who he thought. The last person he would want to see again on a vacation with his family was that moron.

"So then I said, 'Ashley, it's not working out, I'm going back to the beach!" the voice cackled from behind the fence. As soon as that sentence was heard, Nathan knew that his nightmares were coming true. Chris Keller was indeed here. Again.

Haley looked up at her husband with large eyes. "No," he said firmly. "No, I'm not going over there to say hi." The resolve in his voice wavered when she unleashed her infamous pout on him, but he stood firm. "Haley," he whined, "the guy's a jackass. He'll probably teach Jamie how to cheat at putt-putt or something if we let him know we're here."

"Oh please," Haley rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Teaching Jamie how to cheat at putt-putt is not nearly as bad as you 'teaching' him how to make a band out of my pots and pans. I swear they're permanently dented now!"

"How was I supposed to know that he'd find one of my weights to use as a drumstick _and_ be able to lift it enough to actually bang it against the pots?" he responded innocently. "I only wanted to show him how much fun he would have if he became a rock star."

"My baby will not become a rock star," she corrected. "Pop icon is fine with me, but rock stars party too hard so he can't be that."

"What if he wants to be a rock star?"

"Nathan, that's why we make him listen to the Wiggles, so he doesn't grow up into an angry child and want to, you know, hang out at the coolest bars and have a drug dealer on his speed dial and whatever else is in that song about rock stars."

"Maybe he'll grow up to be an angry child _because_ we make him listen to that crap. I mean, it's got to be giving the poor kid some kind of psychological damage." Nathan's voice was teasing as he watched her ponder this question.

"You're right, the Wiggles have got to go," she resolved quickly. "And we're going over to say hi to Chris."

Before he could say anything to stop her, she had grabbed his hand and was all but dragging him over to the large gate that led to the pool.

"No, she didn't cry, but I know deep down she was begging the Keller to stay, and that's why I had to leave. I don't do long-term." Chris was lying on a lounge chair, his cell phone at his ear, and his eyes covered by his sunglasses.

"Haley," Nathan whisper-whined, "He's obviously in the middle of a conversation; we wouldn't want to disturb him."

"Nathan, stop being such a big baby!" she scolded lightly before pushing through the gate and stepping right in front of Chris.

"Dude, I'll have to call you back, some fat lady is blocking my light," he said in a hushed tone before closing his phone and looking up to see Haley, and now Nathan, for the first time. "Well well, if it isn't my two favorite Scotts. Long time no see!"

"I'm not fat you jerk," Haley huffed indignantly.

"Aw, come on, I didn't know it was you. Who knew someone as little as you could block so much light?"

Haley rolled her eyes as Chris stood up, placing his sunglasses delicately on the chair behind him. "So, what'd you do with the kid? He's got to be, what, a year old now? That's old enough to talk right? Do you think I could borrow him for a day or two to get some sympathy from-"

"No," Nathan said flatly as Haley chuckled at Chris's absurdity. "He can't even walk yet you moron, and if he could we sure as hell wouldn't let you have him for a day."

"Ok, jeez, I was just asking," he shrugged before frowning. "I heard you got drafted, that's too bad."

Nathan and Haley both looked at him confusedly. "Chris, that's a good thing," Haley stated.

"You think it's a good thing that your husband has to go to war?!" he exclaimed, his face portraying nothing but shock and disgust. "Haley, war is not something to be taken lightly. I didn't even realize that the war was bad enough to need a draft…but then again, I don't really listen to windbag politicians any more than I listen to my mother…"

"I got drafted into the NBA, not the army," Nathan sighed, exasperated by dealing with Chris's seemingly childish behavior.

Chris's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh, that's different then. Nice work Nate!"

"Nathan, come over here," Whitey commanded from the other side of the gate. The group of three all looked over to where the old man was standing and Nathan hurriedly made his way over to see what he wanted. "I think the boy needs his diaper changed."

Nathan laughed as Whitey's face scrunched into a disgusted scowl and reached over the gate to take the child into his arms. "Did you and Grandpa Whitey have fun?"

James giggled before waving to his grandfather who smiled at the baby and then turned around to head into his office. "If anyone needs me, I'll be ordering a new bush…" he called over his shoulder.

Nathan smiled and carried his son back over to where his wife and Chris were standing. "Man, that's one small human," Chris stated, his eyes locked on the baby in Nathan's arms.

"Of course he's small, he's not even a year old yet," Haley smiled at her little boy who giggled and clapped his hands together in return.

"He's a cutie all right," Chris confirmed. "Here James, come to Uncle Chris," he said encouragingly as he stretched his arms out toward the child.

Haley wasn't sure which reaction was more adorable, that of her baby or that of her husband. Nathan's face had immediately twisted into one of shock and disapproval while Jamie had only giggled and buried his head into his father's shoulder. "I think he needs his diaper changed right now," Haley said as an excuse, trying to stifle the laughter that was threatening to spill out.

"Oh, yeah, I definitely don't want baby poop all over my shirt. He's all yours." Chris lifted his hands in the air as Nathan handed James over to his mother.

"So, are we expecting any of your little buddies today?" Chris questioned without much interest. It sounded to Nathan as if he was asking just so he could hear himself speak.

"Peyton, Jake, and Jenny are supposed to be meeting us here any time now but Lucas and Brooke already had plans," Haley answered automatically as she took James over to a near by lounge chair and laid him down on top of her towel. "Let's change your diaper, Jamie. Then your bottom will feel all better," she coed to the boy who watched her with large happy eyes.

Chris nodded to acknowledge that he had heard her before flopping back down onto his lounge chair, immediately cursing and reaching under his butt to retrieve his sunglasses. "Crap! These cost me 120 dollars!"

"Why would you pay that much for sunglasses?" Nathan asked with a chuckle.

"They're _designer_," Chris responded in his own defense. "By the way, is Tim here? He stills owes me ten dollars and twenty-eight cents from a year ago. Now I'm going to need that money for new sunglasses."

"What's up homies?"

"Speak of the devil," Nathan muttered just as Tim pushed through the large gate.

"Did you miss me?" he called with a large smile.

"Tim, we just saw you last weekend," Nathan pointed out with a chuckle. Tim wasn't always the brightest person, but he certainly provided entertainment everywhere he went.

"I was talking to Chris," Tim responded as he nodded to Chris. Chris, in turn, stuck his hand out in expectation and Tim looked at it confusedly before giving him a "high five".

"No, I need my money," Chris explained impatiently.

Tim laughed and then shrugged. "Dude, didn't you hear? I lost a poker game…now I have no money. That's why I was staying with Nate last week."

"Aw _man_!" Chris groaned. "Now I have to spend the rest of my vacation without sunglasses."

"Jamie, look who's here," Haley said enthusiastically to her son who broke out into a smile when he saw Tim.

"Hey kid," Tim said happily. "Man, you've gotten so big since I saw you last week," he said proudly. "You know what's weird?" His teasing face looked up at Nathan and Haley now. "I feel like he's practically my kid now since I stayed with you guys for so long."

"Hey, get your own baby," Nathan said possessively but still playfully.

"Ew, no way! They're way too much work."

"We're here!" a female voice called from the other side of the gate.

"Peyton's here? Damn it. Now none of us will have any fun," Tim grumbled as Peyton opened the gate and walked in followed by Jake and Jenny.

"Very funny, Dim," Peyton said sarcastically as she pulled her friend into a hug. "Keep up those comments and you might be out of luck when you ask to stay with us for the rest of the week."

"You told her?" Tim asked accusingly as he looked at Nathan who shrugged.

"How are you Peyton?" Haley beamed as she did her best to hug her friend while keeping Jamie in her arms.

"I'm good. Look at you!" Peyton cooed to the little boy as she ruffled his soft hair. "You're getting so big! Pretty soon you'll catch up to Jenny."

"No he won't," Jenny laughed as she walked towards Peyton holding Jake's hand, "he's just a baby! I'm a big girl!"

"Yes you are a big girl," Jake confirmed with a smile, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Why don't you come out in the grass and show Nathan what you learned in gymnastics class?"

"Ok!" the little girl squealed eagerly before dancing through the gate and out into the grassy courtyard.

"She really is getting big," Nathan chuckled as he remembered holding her as a baby almost 5 years ago. Jamie wouldn't grow up that fast, would he?

Jake nodded, picking up on Nathan's nostalgia and understanding where his mind probably was. "They do grow up fast. But, the upside is once their grown you're done with the dirty diapers." Nathan nodded with a laugh and looked up when he heard Jenny calling for them from the yard. "We're coming, Jenny!" Jake called before kissing Peyton on the head and then walking towards the gate.

"Hey Nate, before you go, can you hand me his diaper bag?" Haley asked sweetly as she sat down on one of the lounge chairs, Jamie still safely in her arms.

"I thought you just changed his diaper?" Nathan said confusedly as he grabbed the diaper bag from the table behind him and handed it to his wife.

"I did. There are some pictures in here I wanted to show Peyton," Haley smiled innocently as she used her free hand to search through the items in the bag in search of the small package of pictures she wanted.

"Pictures? Please tell me you didn't bring the one of me-?"

"The one where you and Jamie are both sleeping on the couch? Of course I brought it baby. It's such a cute picture of you both," Haley bit her lip to keep from laughing as she kissed the top of Jamie's head.

"Uncle Nathan? Are you coming?"

"Just a minute Jenny," Nathan called as he stared at his wife and then turned to Peyton. "Ok, no matter what I say, she's going to show it to you, but for your information, she _put_ that Barney blanket on me," he said grumpily as he made his way for the gate, trying to ignore the stifled laughter behind him. He was so going to get her back for this.

* * *

"Aw, Jenny has a bear just like this," Peyton mused as she shuffled through the pictures. "She sleeps with it every night." 

"Speaking of, how are you and Jake doing?"

"Good. Well, great. I'm telling you Haley, moving here was the best thing I ever did," she smiled softly as she looked at a picture of Jamie with his face covered in baby food.

"I'm glad you're happy. I know it wasn't easy for you to keep from transferring here, but I think you made the right decision," Haley said in a very mother like tone.

"Oh I know, I think I knew that the whole time. I just wanted some way to make sure it didn't end and I didn't lose them…and transferring was a way to do that. Luckily I didn't need to," she beamed as she looked out into the yard at her family. "Whoa, please tell me this is not your house," Peyton said jokingly as she looked at the picture in her hand. "It's huge! Is there something you want to tell me?"

Haley stared at her friend confusedly. "We just figured we'd buy a good size house while the market was soft, and with Nathan's new salary we-"

"I _meant,_ are you expecting that house to be a little more crowded in, oh I don't know, about nine months?" Peyton hinted with a laugh as Haley rolled her eyes.

"No. Jamie isn't even a year old yet," she smiled down at her baby before plopping a kiss on his head. "He's a lot like Nathan, so he'd probably get jealous."

"Ah, very true," Peyton conceded. "So, are you guys planning on having any more kids soon, I'm sure the little guy would love a couple of siblings to play with. Wouldn't you, Jamie?" she asked the baby in a light voice. Jamie giggled in response and reached out for Peyton's hair. "Uh oh, he likes blondes just like his daddy. Brooke isn't going to be too happy about that."

"Talking about me?" Nathan smirked as he sat down behind Haley, wrapping his arms around her and Jamie and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Not really hot shot. This might be a shock, but the world doesn't actually revolve around you," Peyton said sarcastically as Nathan rolled her eyes. "But, since you're here, you can answer the question that Haley cleverly evaded."

"I didn't evade any of your questions!" Haley defended herself with a small smile. "I even answered the one about the size of my lingerie bill!"

"True," Peyton agreed. "She's been fairly cooperative, so now it's your turn."

"Oh boy," Nathan sighed. "Let's hear it."

"You're not even going to try and get out of it?" Peyton asked, shocked. Nathan rarely obeyed her demands and she knew it was just to make her mad. Nathan shook his head so she decided to ask quickly before his good mood left him. "Are you and Haley having any more kids soon?"

"You wouldn't answer that question?" he chuckled as he looked at his wife curiously.

"She didn't really give me the chance to answer it. And if she had, I wouldn't know what she meant by 'soon'," Haley shrugged.

Nathan laughed and kissed her temple before looking back at Peyton. "You'll just have to wait and find out, Peyton."

"See! I knew your cooperation was just an act!" she accused good-naturedly as he shrugged. "Jake! Can you come beat up Nathan for me?"

"I'm a little incapacitated, babe," he called from the other side of the fence where Jenny was literally hanging on his leg, making it extremely difficult for him to walk. "She told me she wouldn't let me walk until I agreed to go home and get her bathing suit," he explained with a small shake of his head.

"Good girl, Jenny! Your daddy needs to be taught to do what girls say!" she cheered as Jenny laughed.

"Nate! Did you know that Chris can lick his elbow? I thought it was impossible, but he can do it! You've got to see this!" Tim called from out in the yard somewhere.

Nathan looked at Haley, half-hoping she would tell him not to leave, but at that moment her cell phone rang from somewhere in the diaper bag. "Here, I'll take him with me," he offered as he hoisted the giggling baby from Haley's arms. "Jamie, you want to go see your enemy lick his elbow?"

"Nathan, don't tell him Chris is his enemy," Haley scolded lightly as she searched through the bag for her phone.

"Ok fine. Jamie, do you want to go see Chris the clown lick his elbow?" he amended with a smile as the baby laughed and Haley rolled her eyes playfully.

When Haley finally found her phone, she shook her head in amusement upon seeing what the caller-id read. "Brooke, aren't you supposed to be on some super-romantic weekend with your boyfriend? That is the reason you couldn't come, isn't it?"

"Lucas proposed!" Brooke screeched from the other end of the line.

"What?" Haley asked, her eyes wide and excited. Peyton had heard what Brooke had yelled too from her seat across from Haley and was waiting for the response. "But I thought you guys were going to wait-"

"So did I! But then Lucas brought me to this beautiful cabin up here in the woods and we were walking through the house just looking around because I wanted to see the decorating-you know how I've always loved the decorating in log cabins- and then we went into the kitchen and he said he was going to get me some champagne. I didn't know why we were drinking champagne but obviously I went along with it and he gave me a glass and told me to sit down at the table so he could get me something to eat-"

"Brooke, are you getting to the part where he proposed?" Haley asked with a chuckle.

"Yes! So then we were eating and Lucas said he forgot to get the desert out of the oven. I didn't really believe him since I hadn't seen him put anything in the oven to start with, but I played along because he promised it was chocolate. Anyway, he brought over a two plates, one with chocolate cake and the other with a velvet box…so then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Can you believe it?!"

Haley could have sworn she heard Lucas chuckling in the background but couldn't be sure since Brooke was squealing like a 13 year old again. "Brooke, that's great," she said enthusiastically.

"I know! You have to be my maid of honor! Oh! And Jamie can be the ring bearer! How cute will he be in a little tux?"

"We'll see, Brooke," Haley laughed. "Can I talk to Lucas, or has he run away from all this excitement?"

"No, my fiancée is right here," Brooke giggled before handing the phone off to the man sitting on the couch.

"Hey Hales,"

"Hello my newly engaged best friend," Haley teased. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh, believe it or not, it was kind-of spur of the moment. I decided to propose yesterday," he chuckled.

"I'm so happy for you guys. I guess you're over the whole fear of commitment thing then?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Haley could hear the smile in his voice and new that he was happier than he ever had been and knowing that warmed her heart. "Hey, I'm sorry, but Brooke wants to go celebrate and I'm not really strong enough to turn her down…"

"Ew, yeah, gross. Go ahead; I'm sure Brooke will call me later."

"Bye Hales."

With that, they both hung up and Haley proceeded to tell the news to Peyton who was also more than happy to hear that Lucas had stopped being a baby when it came to commitment. "Hey Haley, I think your overgrown child may need some help with the real child," Peyton teased as they both looked over the fence to see Nathan and Jamie playing together in the grass. Nathan was lying on his back as Jamie crawled on and off of his stomach waiting for his daddy to wake up and catch him.

Haley smiled as she watched her two boys play. In this moment she knew that whatever life threw at her she could face as long as she had her family and friends and nothing proved that point better than the place in which she was standing. This quaint little condo complex was the site of so many important things in her life, some good and some bad, but looking back she knew that she would come here for the rest of her life.

The pool, the condos, the little old man who owned the whole place, all of them held a special place in her heart despite the drama that seemed to come along with them. She knew that Nathan felt the same way about this condo complex even if he would never admit it and she also knew that Jamie would come to love it here too. The whole place was truly special and she was sure that none of them would ever forget it.

* * *

The bearded man looked around him curiously as he took in what was going to be his home for the next 20 years. The grey concrete walls, the metal bars that kept others in their place, and the faint smell of freshly cleaned bed sheets were what he was doomed to wake up to every morning. 

"In here," the guard commanded as he opened the door to a small cell and ushered the man clad in bright orange inside. "Dinner is at 6:30." And with that, the guard was gone and the man was left all but alone as he noticed the three pairs of eyes staring from either side of him.

"Uh, hi. I'm Randy," the man said almost nervously as he took in the sight of the mysterious man to his left and the dark haired boy and girl to his right. Weren't girls supposed to be kept in a different part of the prison?

"My name's Dan Scott," the mysterious man offered as he nodded at the newcomer.

"I'm Nicki Chavez and this is my brother Nick," the young woman said stiffly from the opposite side of Dan. "What are you in for?"

"Uh, I robbed a bank," Randy said guiltily as he looked at his feet. Then, remembering that you were supposed to look tough in prison, he straightened up and looks towards his neighbors. "What about you guys?"

"Long story short," Dan started, "I tried to kill my son and daughter-in-law."

Randy nodded, trying not to show his shock and horror before turning to Nicki and Nick. Surely whatever they did wasn't as bad as that.

"Uh, long story short?" Nick asked and chuckled to himself when Randy nodded. "We tried to kill his son and daughter-in-law."

With that, Dan, Nick, and Nicki all started to laugh as if they were part of some sort of big joke. Randy had three things on his mind at that moment. One, these three people were obviously crazy. The fact that they tried to kill people proved it if the hysterical laughter didn't give it away. Two, Dan's son and daughter-in-law must be two very lucky people to have survived two murder attempts. And three, was it possible to switch cells to get away from the insane people imprisoned next to him?

**The End**


End file.
